Three months after being tied up by armed robbers at Avis' Fine Jewelry in Thomasville, David Reynolds describes the events of that day as devastating.
Reynolds and two other employees were preparing for the close of business for the day June 21. But four nicely dressed people who appeared to be ordinary customers entered the store.
"They came in, looked at some merchandise, pulled a gun and said, 'This is a robbery,'" Reynolds, the manager of the jewelry store, recalled.
Reynolds and sales associate Helen Davidson were taken to the back of the store and tied up. A third employee was demanded to stay up front with the robbers to assist them with getting the jewelry.
"You could hear them putting merchandise in the buckets," Reynolds said, adding the suspects were in the business for about 30 minutes.
With fears of another robbery, that half-hour has caused Avis' Fine fashion jewelry online Avis and Cecil Brewer to decide to close the business for good. About $800,000 in jewelry was taken from the jewelry store, most of which was covered by insurance.
"It's pretty devastating that you have just been through that," Reynolds said. "I can understand Avis' point with closing."
Avis Brewer and her husband were on vacation in South Carolina the day of the robbery. They were preparing to go to dinner when they received the call about the crime.
"I remember just sitting down and handing the phone to my husband," she said. "I guess I was just in shock."
The Brewers opened Avis' Fine Jewelry on National Highway in 1988. In 1990, the business moved to its existing location on Randolph Street. Their business had never been robbed prior to the June incident.
"We just decided to close instead of going through something like that again," Avis Brewer said of the decision to close Avis' Fine Jewelry. "It's really hard. It's still hard. I am coming on the last couple of weeks now. I started it and been here the whole time. I worked hard to grow the business and to grow the relationship with the customers. I guess in my mind, I know it's the best thing I can do."
Avis Brewer said her business will close in a couple of weeks. She has no definite date of the closure. Customers can receive up to 70 percent discounts on items during a going-out-of-business sale.
There has been interest from other jewelry stores of locating at Avis' Fine Jewelry's location, Avis Brewer said. She's also had inquiries from insurance agents.
With closing the jewelry store, Avis and Cecil Brewer will now set their sights on putting more of a focus on their rental property. They have more than 50 apartment units spread throughout Thomasville.
Lettie Torrence has been a customer for years of Avis' Fine Jewelry.
"I hated it because I like to buy my jewelry here," she said, referring to the store's closure. "I hate to go somewhere else. It's a shame. I loved coming in here. Even if I didn't buy anything, I loved to look."
Davidson had her Toyota Camry stolen by the armed robbers. The vehicle was later recovered.
"I feel badly for Avis because she has spent the better part of her life building this store in town," Davidson said. "I know she will be remembered for what she has done here. I was here that day. It was pretty traumatic."
Greg and Ashley Denard are jewelry sales consultants who reside in Florida. They were hired by Avis' Fine Jewelry to assist in the remaining weeks of the business.
"It's pretty devastating because we are very much connected to people in the industry," Greg Denard. "To hear a fellow jewelry store owner go through a process like that is devastating. It's hurtful to see people robbed. It's unfortunate. Luckily, nobody got hurt."
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