The Town Square Jewelers has moved back into their beautifully remodeled store on the corner of the square in Fayetteville. So many people wondered if it would ever happen, including the store employees.
As with most remodels, and especially those involving historic buildings, it took longer than expected, but the final result was worth the wait. The store reopened at the end of October, just in time for the holiday season. Alex Rodriguez’s goal in the remodel was to create a beautiful shop to present top quality merchandise, in various price ranges and styles to the citizens on the south side of Atlanta. He also wanted to provide the customer with a pleasant upscale shopping experience. Rodriguez had full intentions of maintaining the architectural history of the town square and cut no corners in doing so. Along with creating a jewelry store that would make his father and mother proud, he also wanted to build a store that would be an asset to downtown Fayetteville and help with revitalization of the square. Rodriguez and architect John Reeves designed a roofline and exterior that matched and blended with the historic Old Fayette County Courthouse that sits across the street. The store’ s showroom was enlarged to include a coffee bar and sales offices for the showing of diamonds and the sale of gold. There is a large repair area with onsite jeweler and state of the art equipment including the latest in laser repair.
The story of Town Square Jewelers couldn’t be told with out a little history on Walter Rodriguez, the talented Jeweler who started working in jewelry at the age of 13 in Uruguay in his uncle’s store. He swept the floors of the shop and cleaned. After learning the trade from his uncle he opened his own store in 1964 in South America. During his career, Walter Rodriguez crafted jewelry for such well-known names as Cartier and Tiffany’s and for some of the most famous people in the world, including Elizabeth Taylor, former Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin, and England’s Queen Elizabeth. In 1967, he and his wife, Maria Rosa, moved to New York working in the heart of Manhattan and the city’s diamond district.
In 1993, the Rodriguezes closed their shop in New York City and moved to Fayette County to be near their son, Alex, who came to Atlanta to work for Delta. After initially running his retail business from their basement, they found a vacant store front on the square in downtown Fayetteville. The site currently houses the monogram store “All About Me.” The abandoned building was badly in need of repair. The Rodriguezes literally built their new shop from the ground up. They gutted the store, removing a tree that had grown into the rear wall of the building. They took apart the brick walls and cleaned each of the 100-year-old bricks by hand and then rebuilt the facade. The former tire store was transformed into a modern jewelry store complete with a chandelier hanging from the ceiling. Five days before Christmas in 1994, the shop opened and sold its first ring. Town Square Jewelers in Fayetteville had begun.
Alex became involved in the family business at the age of 12 and, despite holding down another full time job outside of the jewelry industry, he has never lost sight of his father’s trade. He made the time to watch his father work and learn the trade. The two saw their jewelry as art and worked together to create one of a kind piece. In 1995 the father and son duo respectively took first and second place in the Georgia Jewelers Association Design Contest $3,000 and up category. Walter was awarded Best in Show for a diamond and gold choker and Alex received second for a heart pendant crafted of diamonds, platinum and 18K gold. In 1996, the Jewelers of America awarded the choker Best in Show.
In 1998, they took the opportunity to expand and get great exposure by purchasing and moving to the current location on the corner of Georgia Highway 85 and East Stonewall Ave. The store which has housed several different businesses was remodeled into the jewelry store. Walter crafted his jewelry and Maria ran the store.
After a battle with cancer, Walter Rodriguez passed away five years ago on August 16, 2004. Shortly afterwards Maria retired turning the store over to Alex and his wife, Paula.
In 2008 the Rodriguez’s decided a remodeling of the store was necessary. In the front corner of the store is a baby grand piano with a beautiful chandelier above- just like his father had placed in the original Town Square Jewelers store down the street.
During November and December the Town Square staff and the Rodriguez family hosted events and a sale to introduce the store and the beautiful merchandise to the people of Fayette County. Giving back to the community is important to the Rodriguez family and this year as in the past they were a major sponsor of the Cattle Barron’s Ball as well as participating with the other downtown businesses to Paint the Town Pink. The first event held in the store was a Pandora Pink Event with a donation made to the Atlanta Susan G. Komen Foundation. As part of the grand opening sale and celebration, the store held a food drive with over two truckloads of food being donated to the Fayette Samaritans. The Rodriguezes are strong supporters of the school system and make donations to the different school organizations including the band, sports and chorus departments.
This year, the store will introduce a new Rewards and Referral program to our customers. This program will allow the customers to earn cash towards future purchases based on each purchase made. Their VIP customers will receive special coupons and event invitations. Customers can also earn store credit by referring their friends and family as new customers to Town Square Jewelers.
Everyday, Town Square Jewelers offers jewelry repair- including sizing, laser welding, watch repair and watch batteries. Jewelry appraisals are by appointment with a GIA certified gemologist. Customers may sell or trade broken or unworn gold, silver or platinum in the privacy of gold sale office for cash or store credit. Town Square Jewelers offers a large selection of Bridal Jewelry including many one of a kind pieces as well as Art Carved and Benchmark rings. Many rings are ready to give; others are available for setting your own diamond or to choose a diamond from our beautiful selection of stones. They have a large selection of pearls, diamond fashion jewelry, colored stones, gold and sterling silver jewelry as well as being a Pandora Dealer and an exclusive dealer of Debbie Brooks’s purses. There is a large selection of watches including beautiful, Swiss made Town Square Watches. Everything in the store has been selected to give the citizens of Fayette County and the southside of Atlanta beautiful, unique pieces to choose from in a variety of styles and price ranges.
With his immense talent, expertise and respectability, Walter Rodriguez was truly a legend in the jewelry industry and brought that to Fayette County. Today, his son Alex continues the Rodriguez tradition of providing the south side of Atlanta with a beautiful, high quality, family owned jewelry store. They look forward to seeing old friends and customers as well as new faces. Come and visit the store located on the Square in Fayetteville at 101 East Stonewall Avenue. Store hours are Monday – Wednesday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Thursday and Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m.- 4 p.m. They are closed on Sundays. Town Square Jewelers can be found on Facebook and at the website www.townsquarejewelers.us.
