‘It’s so much more than jewelry’: Cleary Jewelers reopens in Home Depot plaza in Greenfield

GREENFIELD — Four months after closing its doors on Main Street, Cleary Jewelers will reopen at 280 Mohawk Trail, in the Home Depot plaza, on Saturday morning.

Owner Kerry Semaski was putting the finishing touches on the new space Friday afternoon, including laying out a display of ring boxes and memorabilia from throughout the store’s 98-year history, and watching crews put the new sign above the front door. She said she is grateful for the community support the store has received over the past few months, and she is excited to get back to work and welcome customers to the new space.

“We are here, open for business and are welcoming people with open arms,” Semaski said. “I cannot express our absolute gratitude to the community enough for their support through this. I am humbled and have so much gratitude.”

Semaski’s decision to move to the Home Depot plaza from the former Wilson’s Department Store came after settling a legal dispute involving MassDevelopment, the Franklin Community Co-op and The Community Builders in October.

The parties settled after a yearslong conflict between the jewelry store and its landlord. MassDevelopment, which filed a complaint in court to evict Cleary Jewelers in August, acquired the former Wilson’s Department Store in 2022 with plans to expand and relocate Green Fields Market into the building’s first floor, turning the upper floors into 65 mixed-income rental apartments.

Semaski said she’s excited to put the years of “yuck” behind her and move forward, focusing on serving customers and being a friendly face to guide them through product options and repairs, adding that while online stores have grown in popularity, product descriptions can be deceiving. Shopping in person allows people to “touch and feel the jewelry,” try on pieces and better decide what cuts, colors and styles they prefer.

“It’s so much more than jewelry,” Semaski said.

Two of her first visitors in the new space were Dennis and Dan Cleary, the son and grandson of the business’ founder, James Cleary. They described the new store as beautiful as Semaski showed them around and pointed out all the original details from the former location that were brought over, and said James would be proud that Semaski is keeping the store alive.

“He started the store in 1928, and he had been working for somebody in Springfield beforehand,” Dennis Cleary said. “I think brick-and-mortar is so important. … It’s great to see this place.”

Semaski said the display cases from the old location were sanded, refinished and brought to the new location, as were several pieces of historic jewelry repair equipment, a photo of James Cleary, and a chunk of the sidewalk that was in front of the old location, which includes imprints of the rings of the store’s former owners.

Moving crews helped install the sign from the old location on the wall behind the engagement and wedding ring displays. A new sign was hung above the door on Friday.

“This was a huge labor of love,” Semaski said. “They put up the sign and I burst into tears.”

The new store location is approximately 1,500 square feet, the same size as her old location, Semaski said. In setting up the new space, she said she wanted to make it more open and welcoming, with enough space for customers to move and flow throughout the venue, as the old location could feel cramped and “tunnel-like” at times.

Semaski joked that the Mohawk Trail would be the permanent home for Cleary Jewelers as the safe is too heavy to move again. She said the safe broke several dollies the moving company tried using and ultimately required eight people to move it to its new spot.

“When that safe went out of the old Cleary’s and the six of [the movers] were pushing it, you could see the floor boards shifting,” Semaski said. “I’m not doing this move again. … If I move out, it’s because I’m retiring or they’re carrying me out.

“We did [James Cleary] proud in continuing on Cleary’s,” Semaski continued. “It’s been an honor and a privilege to be able to own the story and carry on the tradition.”

Semaski purchased the store in 2004.

She said the new store’s hours will be from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday, except on Thursdays, when the store closes at 3 p.m. On Saturdays, the store is open from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. The new location will maintain all the same services, including jewelry repair and curbside pickups, but she has added new products to her catalog.

“There was a lot of history,” Semaski said of the old location. “But a lot of nice new memories will be made here. … We were closed longer than we anticipated, so I’m just excited we’re officially starting the next chapter.”