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J.Jones Evening Wear celebrates move into Wheeling

WHEELING — A formal wear store that opened a downtown Wheeling location during the winter finally got a chance to celebrate its arrival.

J.Jones Evening Wear, which opened its Wheeling location on Jan. 20, sits on the corner of Main and 10th streets. It celebrated with a ribbon-cutting ceremony Thursday, with members of the Wheeling Area Chamber of Commerce, Wheeling Mayor Glenn Elliott and building-owner C.J. Kaiser.

Jill Jones, owner of the business, led the members on a tour of sections of the store, showing the various displays of its signature evening wear. J.Jones offers a plethora of evening wear, including gowns, short dresses, jewelry and tuxedos in its Wheeling and Weirton locations.

Its main focus, however, is its bridal department.

“Bridal was not conducive in Weirton,” Jones said. “Prom girls would walk right in front of the bride.”

Jones moved all her bridal merchandise to the Wheeling location and plans to make it the focus of the business.

“We Speak Bride” is the name of the bridal package offered by J.Jones. Wedding parties pay for an appointment, and that cost comes off of the final price of the dress if they choose to buy at J.Jones. The parties come in an hour before the store’s opening and receive bridal cookies and mimosas all while having pictures and videos taken of the process.

“With the TV shows, bridal parties are seeing (about bridal appointments), they realize they want that,” said Jones. “We’ll give it to them.”

The building, which was built before the Civil War, required a lot of renovation in preparation for the opening back in January, she said. Jones recounts the first time she entered the building, saying she had to “tip toe through the floor” because of the amount of water damage. The ceilings were also falling in, she said.

It took six or seven months of renovation to prepare the building for the opening of the store, she said. Now, the building sports new flooring, light pink colored walls and the restored original tin ceilings as well as multi-colored windows in the back section.

When the store opened, prom season was just beginning, Jones said, but now it is gearing up for homecoming. The store has stocked up on short dresses in preparation.

J.Jones also continues to grow its men’s wear, Jones said. The tux business, which has its own corner in the store, has nearly doubled in the last year, she said. She attributes its success to the Wheeling store and the efforts of her manager, Leslee Little.

“When people asked me why downtown? Why this corner? I said, ‘It had to be here,'” said Jones.

She said she believes Wheeling is on the road to revitalization, and that beginning a business downtown is a smart investment.

“It’s important to be where the traffic is,” Jones said.

The store’s location, next to the Wheeling Suspension Bridge, provides what Jones said she hopes will be ample car and foot traffic.

In the future, Jones hopes to expand the business and place the bridal department upstairs. That will leave room for a new section that will house private pageant gowns, she said. Pageant gowns tend to be more delicate and have a lot of beading. She said she believes it’s important to have a private, by-appointment-only area that pageant girls may use.

J.Jones’ store in Wheeling is open from noon to 7 p.m. Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays; 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays; 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturdays; and, when the season gets busier, special hours from noon to 3 p.m. Sundays.

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