Sweet Custom Jewelry makes former bank building ‘shine’

When jewelers Bob and Alissa Sweet decided to set up shop together 10 years ago, they toured the former bank building at 226 E. César E. Chávez Ave. in Old Town. They were impressed by the historic space, which was built in 1929, but found it too large to start out in.

Sweet Custom Jewelry instead opened on Turner Street next to Blue Owl Coffee, a space it occupied for over nine years. Then, in 2023, when the arcade operating in the bank building closed its doors, the husband-and-wife team decided the time was finally right to buy it.

“When it came back on the market, it was like fate,” Alissa said.

The Sweets held a grand opening for their new storefront last Thursday (Oct. 16). The shop sells the same handcrafted jewelry as before; however, the larger space has allowed for expanded offerings, including a new purse section and a more substantial estate jewelry collection, as well as more room for designers and jewelers to create the pieces.

Bob said the business has already hired more jewelers to fill the additional workbenches.

Setting up the new shop, which the Sweets said is around four times the size of the previous, took over a year of effort. The business received a $25,000 grant from the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which helped with renovations. The Sweets also own the building, having rented the previous space, which Alissa said allowed for more creativity in renovations.

“It’s nice because we have freedom. We have the freedom of design and the freedom of just being a standalone building in Old Town,” she said.

The Sweets met at another jewelry shop, where Bob was the goldsmith and Alissa worked in sales. When they decided to go into business together, they toured Michigan’s beach towns, looking for a walkable shopping district. They didn’t want to uproot their family, though.

“When we found Old Town and it had that same vibe — a little community — we knew this is where we wanted to open,” Alissa said.

She noted the artsy district is a perfect fit for a shop like Sweet Custom Jewelry, where she, Bob and other staff design items in house.

“They’re all made by hand from start to finish,” she said. “So, it really brings our artsy side in to fit in with the community in Old Town, which is very art based.”

The Old Town community has been very receptive to this artsier side of fine jewelry, but Alissa said the shop has also brought outside foot traffic to Old Town.

“We have definitely become more of a destination store,” she said, “so that really brings people to Old Town.”

At the ribbon-cutting ceremony, Mayor Andy Schor praised the Sweets’ renovations before scattering lab-grown diamonds and other gemstones in a sandbox for a “diamond dig,” with proceeds benefitting the Capital Area Humane Society.

“Look at this space,” he said. “It’s been so many things, but honestly, I’ve not seen it really shine like it is right now.”