After nearly six decades providing custom menswear on Eglinton West, Angelo Rosso Custom Tailors is preparing to close its doors.
The longtime shop at 1064 Eglinton Ave. W. has been a fixture in the neighbourhood since 1968, when it was founded by tailor Angelo Rosso. In 1973, Jim Tanner joined the business, beginning a relationship with the store that would span more than half a century.
Tanner worked alongside Rosso for 17 years before purchasing the business from Rosso’s family following his death in 1990. He’s spent the decades since at the helm of the business, carrying on its tradition of custom men’s tailoring.
Over the years, the store has also weathered some major changes outside its doors.
In a 2015 interview about the impact of Crosstown LRT construction on businesses along Eglinton, Tanner said there was “basically no foot traffic in the area” and wasn’t sure whether the shop would make it through the disruption.
“Once it’s done, it’s certainly going to be a lovely street, but I don’t know if we will make it,” Tanner said.
Well, the shop ultimately did make it through, and now more than a decade later, the 78-year-old is retiring after 53 years with the business.
There’s a nostalgic side to the closure, too. Angelo Rosso is more of an old-school, indie tailor shop that’s becoming harder to find in Toronto. It joins other longtime menswear institutions that have closed in recent years, including Korry’s Clothiers on the Danforth, which ended a 70-year run in 2022, and Brown’s Menswear on Avenue Rd., which shut its doors in 2018 after nearly 90 years.
A closing sale will begin this weekend and is expected to continue for about 10 weeks before Angelo Rosso Custom Tailors closes for good. You can visit the shop at 1064 Eglinton Ave W.