COVID put this Charlotte clothing store’s plans on hold. Not anymore.
Filipe Ho and Bradley Rhyne, founders of local menswear clothing company OMJ, were all set to open the doors to their new showroom in South End’s Design Center of the Carolinas. This grand opening celebration would come as a milestone of their small business, which they had been growing for seven years.
One glitch: COVID-19.
“To work for so long on something like building out a new retail space only to now not be able to open to the public is devastating, both emotionally and financially,” Rhyne told CharlotteFive’s DeAnna Taylor in mid-March. The coronavirus global pandemic swept in just days before the store’s planned opening of March 21.
And now, two months later, an update: OMJ has officially opened in South End’s Design Center of the Carolinas, near neighbors Jeni’s Splendid Ice Cream, Superica, Barcelona Wine Bar, Hawkers and Fit Atelier.
OMJ joins Ho’s and Rhyne’s other two lines, OLE MASON JAR and Mason Custom. The new store expands on the brand’s ready wear and custom offerings. The shop will include a space for fittings and fabric selection, clothing and accessories by OMJ and other designers.
“While this is certainly not the ideal way and time to open a store, we are thrilled to finally be open in such an amazing location,” Rhyne said in a statement.
“There isn’t anything like this here (in Charlotte), and so we are creating it,” he said.
Bonus: If you’re reading this and you are planning a wedding
For anyone planning an upcoming wedding OMJ has teamed up with some other local wedding vendors for a giveaway. “We do a lot of custom suiting for wedding parties, so it was something special for us to do and to see if we could at least make one couple’s day through all this,” Rhyne told CharlotteFive on Wednesday afternoon.
The giveaway is called “Love’s not canceled, Charlotte,” and you can apply through June 1.
This story was originally published May 20, 2020 at 12:24 PM.
