Jewelers move shop home
K Bee Jewelers held their grand opening recently for their new location on Washington Road in Evans. Brian and Katie Epstein have been operating their successful business in Aiken for the past six years before moving to Columbia County. Both are Lakeside graduates.
Photo by Donnie Fetter
K Bee Jewelers owners Brian and Katie Epstein recently relocated their once Aiken-based business to the ever-growing Evans Town Center.
But the business prospects were secondary to their need for a homecoming.
"This is our home," Mrs. Epstein said. "We were just coming home."
The former Lakeside High School graduates opened their new store at 4431 Washington Road on March 10 after six years of living and working in Aiken.
Although she wanted to be closer to her family, Mrs. Epstein said it was difficult to leave her Aiken friends and customers behind. But she said she still intends to service her South Carolina customers any way she can.
"It was hard, because we had gotten really close and grown really fond of a lot of people there," she said. "We had really good customers that were very loyal, but I believe Aiken customers will make the drive, and we're willing to ship items to Aiken for those that can't."
Mr. and Mrs. Epstein have a 4-year-old son, and Mr. Epstein also has a 9-year-old daughter living in Evans. Their parents also live in Evans.
Considering Evans' retail explosion in recent years, they felt like the time was right to make the move home.
"Evans is such a growing area that we thought it would be a good opportunity," Mrs. Epstein said. "Since we wanted to come home, we felt like it was a good time to go ahead and to do that."
The self-made jewelers refer to their business as a full-service jewelry store.
They are the area's exclusive retailers of the Ronaldo Collection. A jewelry maker, Mr. Epstein sells unique pieces of his own creation and takes commissions for customized pieces. K Bee's inventory includes Italian charms, loose stones, gold and silver jewelry, watches and lighters.
The store also offers repair work, sometimes while the customer watches through a window in K Bee's repair shop.
"We hear so many horror stories about people that take their diamond to a jeweler to have it sized and then they come back and the jeweler has switched out the stone," Mrs. Epstein said. "It means a lot to people that are worried to be able to see what's going on out here."
K Bee Jewelers' hours are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday and 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday. For more information, call 447-1007.