The Biz Beat: Downtown San Jose clothing store suitable for all occasions

For more than 105 years, Hammer & Lewis Clothiers has existed in an indefinable place in culture and time. Its two San Jose locations offer Cary Grant-worthy suits, the shiniest of dress shoes, classic flannel Pendletons and jackets flamboyant enough for Burning Man celebrants. It is de rigueur for zoot-suited pachucos and aficionados of fine headwear and can count ZZ Top guitarist Billy Gibbons among its sharp-dressed men.

“We have pretty much every category covered,” owner Irving Velez told San José Spotlight. “We have clothing that’s made for us and things you can’t find anywhere else. We’ll do special orders. Whatever it takes to keep everybody happy.”

Founded in 1920 by Sig Hammer and Nathaniel Lewis, the first location was at 28 North Market St.  According to Velez, both men were salesmen by trade and decided to join forces in their own venture after Lewis received a severe dressing-down by his employer. Lewis quit his job, and Hammer provided the capital.

“Hammer kept on selling on the road,” Velez said. “One day at the store, he saw the reason Lewis had gotten yelled at — he wasn’t a good salesman. So Hammer started working in the store, and Lewis just helped out.”

The partnership continued until Lewis’ death in the 1950s. Velez started working at the store in 1966, buying it 10 years later after Hammer suffered a debilitating stroke. He promised Hammer he could still come to the store whenever he wanted, shuttling his former employer back and forth from his home, sometimes daily, until his death.

Hammer & Lewis was forced to relocate to South First Street after the building’s roof separated from the back wall during the 1989 Loma Prieta Earthquake. The new location had previously housed a jewelry store, but started as a movie theater — the streetfront marquee now displays the store’s name in neon.

From the entrance, the interior gives an almost overwhelming impression of an inventory rich in diversity and quality. Tight aisles are formed from racks of plastic-wrapped shirts and jackets topped with a variety of fashion accessories. Stacy Adams shoes and Stetson hats line shelves on the wall.

It’s just the tip of the iceberg.  The location has three stories covering 7,500 square feet, more than twice the size of the original store, and every inch is used.

The store’s biggest sellers are the cotton and virgin wool Pendleton shirts, available in plain and checked designs. Yvette Elliot, store manager and Velez’s sister, claims Hammer & Lewis is the No.1 supplier of Pendletons in Northern California.

“Everybody loves the Pendletons,” she told San José Spotlight. “There’s tons of colors for men and women and they are made with very upgraded level material.”

Longtime customer Mark Valenzuela said he owns 85 of the shirts, about 25 of them still unwrapped. He said he values the integrity of the store as much as the selection.

“They are never wrong about what they suggest,” Valenzuela told San José Spotlight. “They are never going to try to sell you something that is not right for you. They want the customer to look good, because it’s a reflection of the store.”

While the store focuses on the classic and stylish, there is a general ban on the trendy — you won’t find skinny or baggy jeans here. His customers don’t want that, Velez said.

“It’s just not us,” he said.

That’s not to say customer taste doesn’t occasionally dictate what is stocked.  On a whim, Velez purchased a spectacularly gaudy jacket to serve as an eye-catcher in the store’s front window. It sold immediately, and now there’s a rack of similar jackets toward the back of the store.

Velez opened a second store on South White Road to cater to the established clientele in East San Jose. It’s a smaller location with a more select inventory, all drawn from the First Street store, which acts as a warehouse for the business.

“Downtown has the classier stuff,” Velez said. “We sell more suits in the dressy-type category there. If you are looking for something funkier, then it’s the other store. But a lot of the inventory is the same in both places.”
The enthusiastic customer service is also the same. If you come in for a Pendleton, don’t be surprised if someone leads you to the Navy Oxford shoes or the beaver skin hats. It’s easiest just to accept it because the staff’s vocabulary of cool is going to be much greater than yours.

“If somebody says, ‘I need something, we just drag them right over to it,’” Velez said. “We drag them to everything, to tell you the truth. You’ll see things you have never seen before, and you will grow.”

Contact Robert Eliason at [email protected].

Editor’s Note: The Biz Beat is a series highlighting local small businesses and restaurants in Silicon Valley. Know a business you’d like to see featured? Let us know at [email protected].