Retirement prompts closure of downtown St. Charles jewelry store

ST. CHARLES – JP Jewelers – the second tenant to move into the First Street project in downtown St. Charles – is closing shop.

Owner Jim Petterec, who has been in the industry for 47 years, announced last week he is retiring, a decision he described as “bittersweet.” But, the 63-year-old said, “it’s time for me.”

Petterec relocated JP Jewelers to St. Charles from Bartlett in 2009, when the First Street project had only one other tenant, the now-shuttered Il Giardino del Dolce Italian bakery.

“I’ve always loved First Street,” Petterec said.

He signed the lease hopeful the full vision of First Street would come to fruition within a few years, he said, but the recession delayed its progress. The city celebrated the groundbreaking of the First Street project's third phase, which is across the street from JP Jewelers, in September.

Petterec has gotten a “phenomenal” response to his retirement announcement and has been “inundated with wonderful well wishes,” he said, calling the support “overwhelming and very humbling.”

He plans to close the store shortly after Jan. 1, he said, indicating a desire to help customers throughout the holiday season.

“We don’t want to abandon people,” he said.

Visit www.jpjewelersinc.com for information.