Jeff Price Tennis, Ski & Skate / Peter Glenn Ski & Sports, 2127 Devine Street: 8 March 2009 4 comments
I noticed on the electronic sign you see when you're at the Harden Street light heading downtown on Gervais a month or so ago that Peter Glenn Ski & Sports was going out of business.
The only time in my life I've even almost gone skiing was in, I think, ninth grade when we had a class trip to a North Carolina slope but I got sick and had to give my place to a cousin. It's probably just as well as I'm sure I would have broken something. All that is to say that I never went into, or considered going into, Peter Glenn.
The window "murals" were nice though!
UPDATE 16 April 2009: Commenter Brian notes that this place used to be "Jeff Price Tennis & Ski". I have updated the post title to include that. He also notes that the last day of "Peter Glenn" was probably 8 March 2009, and I have made that update to the post title as well.
UPDATE 13 May 2010: Rearranged Post title to put "Jeff Price" first, and added the "& skate"
UPDATE 4 February 2016 -- As noted by commenter Joe Shlabotnik, this place has been torn down:
UPDATE 13 July 2017 -- The new building is up:
4 Responses to 'Jeff Price Tennis, Ski & Skate / Peter Glenn Ski & Sports, 2127 Devine Street: 8 March 2009'
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Brian
15 Apr 09 at 6:58 am
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I bet ya that North Carolina slope you went to was Beech Mountain. (Ski Beech). The ski club in the small town I live in go to Beech Mountain to go skiing.
James Greek
11 Jul 09 at 6:17 pm
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I came across this article after looking for information on Key Wholesalers and Sam Solomon(after a discussion with a former Service Mdse employee).
I managed Jeff Price Tennis(later Tennis/Ski) at the Millwood Ave location until I finished USC in spring '79. We were among the first tennis specialty shops in South Carolina and would get tremendous traffic from the Canadians on the way to Myrtle Beach for their (too) early spring migrations. Hilton Head Island was in its infancy and we carried even more 'exotic' apparel and equipment than any of the resort pro shops, making us a "must stop" location on the way to the beaches of SC.
Jeff had just carried ski clothing for the last two years I was there, expanding to hardware after I left in '79. His business was much more "mature" after he moved to the Devine St location and embraced the ski and inline skate business fully. I'd like to think I had a small part in the development of the tennis store as both Jeff and I worked there when it was "Forty Love" Tennis Shop, founded by Chuck Hyatt in the early '70s. Chuck was a Westinghouse engineer and tennis teaching professional before the "boom" years of the '70s. He had tremendous foresight in opening his tiny shop and was instrumental in the development of the Midlands Tennis Association. I had 6+ years at the shop before getting my marketing degree from USC(the original!) and going on to work the next 30 years in the tennis business as a teaching pro, shop manager and sales rep.
I wasn't surprised that Jeff finally 'retired' by selling to Peter Glenn; but am a bit saddened that the legacy fell victim to the economics of retail business.
By the bye, I grew up in Columbia and still have family there. I haven't been back in a few years; but reading these articles is tugging at my heartstrings, for sure! Thanks for the memories!
CoachRick
24 Feb 17 at 5:05 pm
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@CoachRick - Have you had a chance to look through the alphabetic closings? It is a real blast from the past for anyone that grew up around Columbia.
Homer
24 Feb 17 at 11:51 pm
FYI - This was "Jeff Price Tennis & Ski" previously. Peter Glenn bought it sometime in the 90's(?), he has at least one store (still open) in the Atlanta area.
FWIW - Jeff Price was the first place I ever rented skis from in the very early 90's. I remember the strong smell that would confront you when walked into the place...I'm assuming it was the wax they used on the skis.
I'm pretty certain their last day was 3/8/09. I was in there that day seeing if they had anything left that was drastically marked down.
I had been there a few weeks prior and actually bought a pair of skis for a very good price. Chris back in the service shop told me that he and a few of the other employees were looking into buying the place, doing some renovations (including rearranging the horrible layout of the door/entryway) and reopening again in the fall. I guess we'll see if that happens.