Downtown Billings Icon Desmond’s Going Out of Business

You should go down to Desmond's and see if they have any good deals. Apparently they're going out of business. Those were the wise words of my wife- and I listened!

The downtown men's store Desmond's has been in Billings for 33 years. If you wanted a nice tailored suit or sportscoat or fitted shirt, Desmond's has been THE place to go to for years.

I dropped in for a visit Monday morning and caught up with Desmond's owner Nick Blake who grew up on the Hi Line in a small town called Rudyard. He tells me the company first got its start in 1863. It's been around since President Abraham Lincoln, but now the last Desmond's in the country is set to close.

Blake says it is time to retire. After owning the business for 33 years, he and his wife look forward to actually having a vacation longer than 5 days.

When will the Desmond's store officially close their doors? When every last item is sold, Nick Blake tells me. Just a handful of true men's clothing stores will now remain in Montana, he says. When I dropped in Monday morning some items, like Tommy Bahama shirts, were on sale for 50% off- with another 20% off after that.

By the way, "Shop Local Saturday" is this Saturday for everybody looking to start their Christmas shopping. This is a great time to support local businesses all across Montana. As Evelyn Pyburn with the Big Sky Business Journal reports:

An average two-thirds of every dollar spent at small businesses in the U.S. stays in the local community and every dollar spent at small businesses creates an additional 50 cents in local business activity as a result of employee spending and businesses purchasing local goods and services.