New stop for formal wear rentals coming to downtown
Pat’s Monograms, a family-owned Salinas institution dating back
to 1986, is about to open a second location in downtown
Hollister.
Pat’s sells all things uniform and rents formalwear.
New stop for formal wear rentals coming to downtown
Pat’s Monograms, a family-owned Salinas institution dating back to 1986, is about to open a second location in downtown Hollister.
Pat’s sells all things uniform and rents formalwear.
The decision to move into downtown Hollister came abruptly, according to Dennis Ostrander, who with his wife, Zoe, owns the store that his stepmother founded 26 years ago.
When the Dick Bruhn’s clothing chain announced that it would be closing all its stores, the move created a new opportunity in San Benito County.
Bruhn’s did formalwear rental and sold uniform supplies for law enforcement officers.
The Ostranders stepped in and are completing negotiations this week on a 1,800-square-foot space on San Benito Street near Sixth. The site formerly housed Just Friends.
“I very much look forward to being a fixture in the community,” Dennis Ostrander said. “We even hired the manager from Dick Bruhn’s, Janie Nieto.”
Ostrander said that had Bruhn’s not announced its intention to close, the thought of opening in Hollister would never have occurred.
Pat’s has already secured a contract with the Hollister Fire Department for uniforms. The business also sells school uniforms and medical wear.
Generations of Hollister kids attending religious schools are familiar with the trek to Salinas for school clothes.
“What started as a little business – one embroidery machine in the house – has grown to what it is now,” Ostander said. Today, Pat’s is based in an airy modern structure at 1125 Westridge Parkway in Salinas.
When the Hollister store opens – a date has not yet been set – hours tentatively are 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m.-5 p.m. on Saturdays.
Ostrander said the void left by Bruhn’s was such a powerful inducement that he and his wife felt as if they had little choice but to expand.
“With this community and Hollister, either you’re there or you’re not,” he said. “San Jose would become my competition” for Hollister’s business.
Pat’s can be reached now at 424-9439.
