It's Deadpool for Rotman's Hats on Spadina
Its death has been announced prematurely many times over the last few years, but it's finally over for Rotman's Hat Shop on Spadina. The yellow sun shades that protected the stock on display in the window are rolled up, and a single bowler hat sits beneath the sign announcing the clearance sale this weekend.
Owner David Rotman, who took the shop over from his father over 40 years ago, is in a nursing home, and everything must go, including some of the store fixtures. The 84-year-old Rotman had been keeping sporadic hours since suffering a stroke over a year ago, but the strain of keeping the shop open had become too much, and Spadina Avenue is losing one of the last relics of its past as a centre of both haberdashery and Jewish life.
U.S. president John F. Kennedy is reputed to have dealt a mortal blow to the men's hat trade when he appeared in public bare-headed, but Rotman soldiered on in the shop his father opened 75 years ago in a former post office. Anyone who'd bought hats from him will have indelible memories of his sometimes indifferent, sometimes hostile sales style, but both retrophiles and style junkies will have fond memories of a pilgrimage to one of the last places devoted solely to selling hats in the city.
The closure of Biltmore hats five years ago saw Rotman's major supplier dry up, and although a new owner took over the Guelph-based business, much of what was strewn over the counters, shelves and floors of the shop is old stock, which Rotman's friends and family promise that they'll have organized and priced when the open the doors for the final sale this Friday. Anyone planning to add a few more new lids to their wardrobe - or anyone wanting to pay their final respects to a Toronto institution - can take in what's left of Rotman's from Friday to Tuesday from 10am to 9pm.
Comments (23)
That would make a great bar left completely as is.
I was in a bar in Dingle Ireland that was a hardware store by day and a pub by night. They just put plywood on top of the glass display cases and those were seats.
I tried to buy a hat from Rotman's last October, but unfortunately wasn't able to get there at a time when he was there.
I had to resort to going to "Big It Up" at the south end of Spadina.
Sad to see it go as well.
*tips hat*
i've often seen this store on my late night jaunts to newsky and wondered how it was still around
:/
My girlfriend bought me a fedora for my birthday last year and we tried to go to this store about 7 or 8 times, all during what would be considered normal business hours. It was never open, there were no posted hours, and we couldn't get through by calling. I'm not surprised it's on the way out. We went to big it up and custom ordered. That's no way to operate a business.
Did you not read the article? The man is in his 80s and "had been keeping sporadic hours since suffering a stroke over a year ago". It's not closing because of bad business practices. The store was around for 75 years, so obviously he was doing something right to keep it going this long. He was old, sick and time passed him by.
In 10 years I've never seen this store open, but each time I've passed I wished it was. Eventually I decided it was a front for the mob or something.
clearly, you and your girlfriend don't understand the concept of "soul", as indicated by your immediate huffing to Big It Up. You probably don't deserve to wear a fedora, but if you do, i bet it's with a faded purple v-neck t-shirt and some skinny grey jeans. am i right? don't forget the white belt, you pig.
I will definitely be there Friday - the store has a personal connection for me since my great-grandfather used to own the adjacent building and live upstairs. Of course, it's been 30 years since he passed, and I remember going there from my childhood when Kensington still had many Jewish shops, and you could still get real Shopsy's on Spadina.
My husband and I were fortunate to find Mr. Rotman at his store one Saturday last February when we were looking to buy his first proper grown-up-man hat. Mr. Rotman navigated between his wheelchair and walker, refused any assistance getting selections down from the shelves, and was in all ways a consummately professional haberdasher - from the precise fitting to the very stern and specific instructions on how to care for the hat (never grab the crown in the front, store flat in a paper bag away from humidity...)
I don't think he needed to, or was interested in, selling to the retro-fashion-conscious or the ironic. I would take that level of expertise over convenient hours any day. He was a real gentleman.
This may be the death of an institution, but the Hat Depot on Danforth carries on in admirable style...
I bought a fedora from that store in September 2004. When I walked into the store Mr. Rotman asked me what I was looking for, I replied saying I wanted a fedora. He then asked me "Do you even know what a fedora is?" Obviously I answered yes. His response was something along the lines of "No you don't. A fedora is ...." and went on to explain what a fedora was for 5 minutes or so. I loved that store, Mr. Rotman is too awesome!
WHAT THE SALE STARTED ALREADY!?
Got a nice Kangol "Canvas Galaxy" cap today at Rotman's for a mere $20. Stock's going fast. Get there pronto if you want a new lid. Mostly smaller (than size 7) hats left. Get 'em while you can!
Anybody possessing a big head, don't bother going!. As for the rest of you bargain hunters, watch out for the guy who's running the sale. He'll screw you over................
Was there on Thurs morn, little bit of chaos going on and managed to snap this pic, a tad blurry, but I think captures the glimpse of the store from days past.
http://karmparker.tumblr.com/post/139154493/going-out-of-business-sale-at-rothmans
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