BEAUMONT, Texas — A soon-to-be married couple had to make some changes to their wedding plans after a popular Beaumont tuxedo shop closed along with many more around the country.
A note on the front door of the Al's Formal Wear store on Eastex Freeway noted that the store was closed on Monday and that not only would customers not be charged any late fees, they could keep their tuxedo.
Al's Formal Wear is one of seven regional brands owned by Dapper and Dashing, which operates 26 stores in Texas.
Multiple media outlets around are reporting that Al's Formal Wear and American Commodore tuxedo stores around the country are closed but it is not clear if the other five of the company's brands are also closing.
The note on the door at Al's in Beaumont read... "Sorry, we are closed today. We apologize for any inconvenience. If you are a customer returning your tuxedo from the weekend, you will not be charged late fees, and may keep your tuxedo."
Shelby O'Brien and Jessica Smith's wedding is in December.
Two weeks ago, O'Brien says he got a call from Al's Formal Wears' corporate office, telling him they were closing down their Beaumont location.
"If you have people here locally, they can go by and get sized between now and the 25th and all your information will be transferred over to the Webster location," O'Brien said.
On August 3rd, O'Brien got an email from corporate that reads in part:
We will make arrangements with you to change locations or ship your rentals directly to you at no charge, whichever you prefer.
By this time, three members of O'Brien's wedding party had already made $300 deposits.
"Her dad went by the Webster location got sized, her brother did too, then one of the other people in the party got sized also and put their money down. So, this was like $300 bucks a pop," he said.
But this week, O'Brien says they went to try and go get sized and saw a suit hanging on the door along with a sign that read "temporarily closed."
"So, I was like okay they'll be back open tomorrow. We'll they're not," he said.
O'Brien had to break the difficult news to his fiancé. They've tried to reach out to Al's corporate office, but have not heard back.
On the brightside, the soon-to-be married couple is thankful locally-owned company Ortiz Menswear & Bridal is stepping in to help.
"When Al's hurts we hurt and so again I just want to make sure everyone understands we're not here to make a buck. We're here to help our community, whether that be their employees or customers and so you know at Ortiz we're a family so if you need help with your big day, we're here to help you," said Owner John Ortiz.
For anyone stressed out about losing their tuxedo deposit, Ortiz says they will work with you.
And if you need a job, Ortiz says they are hiring.
Employees of AL's were informed that they were losing their jobs on Saturday during an emergency meeting on Microsoft Teams, KPRC in Houston reported.
Managers in Houston were told to have customers pick up completed orders as soon as possible and employees were told to take their belongings home according to KPRC.
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This is a developing story. We will update with more if and when we receive more confirmed information.