Saying Goodbye to a Middleburg Gem

By Leonard Shapiro

Tom Hays has worn many hats over the years—social studies teacher in East Harlem, a New York City cab driver doing carpentry on the side, an occupational therapist in a mental ward. But in Middleburg, it’s been all about one passionate pursuit as a highly-successful jeweler with a devoted local and regional clientele.

And now, after nearly 50 years as the proprietor of Thomas Hays & Son on Madison Street, he’s decided to move into another phase of his life—a well-earned retirement.

His elegant little shop will close for good on Dec. 23, a decision that did not come easily for a 76-year-old man who arrived in town in 1972. He initially opened a small boutique that included clothing and gifts and eventually morphed into jewelry and all the services related to that business. “The reason I’m stopping is because of my age,” he said in a recent interview. “In a small town, there is a lot of down time, and too much time between the next big sale. As much as I love it, it’s time.”

For the last few months, Hays has held a goingout-of-business sale he described as “just amazing.” “The outpouring of affection and gratitude has been humbling,” he continued. “The sale has been great, but not been enough to change my mind. I didn’t want to make the wrong decision, so I waited a long time to do it. And now, it just feels right.”

Unlike countless businesses he’s seen come and go in Middleburg over his tenure as the longest individual shop-owner in town, Hays found a formula to make it all work.

“It’s a difficult town to be successful in business,” he said. “There is not a lot of foot traffic and you have to maximize the local and the tourist business. You also have to have a strong service end. It’s really an art to make it work.”

The art part also has always kept his interest. Back when he lived in New York, where he earned a Masters degree from NYU, he initially dabbled in designing his own jewelry. Over the years, he spent a lot of time traveling to New York’s famous 47th Street diamond district to purchase items he’d later sell in Middleburg. And he also developed a network of fine jewelry artisans around Northern Virginia who have executed his designs and supplied the shop with a variety of gorgeous pieces.

Tom Hays

Photo by Leonard Shapiro Tom Hays

“One of the most beautiful pieces of jewelry I have is made of antique stickpins that he designed,” said Upperville attorney Mildred “Bucky” Slater, a longtime patron. “He’s a very nice man, a very talented man. We’re going to be sorry he’s closing.”

That sort of devoted local clientele keeps coming back year after year. But he’s also well aware that buying trends in recent years have shifted to the internet and led to the demise of many brick-and-mortar institutions both locally and around the country.

“That’s the challenge in Middleburg,” he said. “Because millennials seem to be so squeezed for time, they can shop online. They use their free time for experiences, not going into stores. All small towns have suffered. I’ve talked to shop owners in England, and their small villages are dying because of it.”

Hays actually grew up in a very big town— Washington, D.C.—and famed Washington Post Watergate reporter Carl Bernstein was a childhood friend. He graduated from the University of Wisconsin in 1966 and eventually gravitated to New York. He once traveled the country in a camper, and actually discovered Middleburg on the advice of friends.

“I drove out here one day,” he said. “And I said yes, this is it.”

With $10,000 in savings, he opened up his business, and the rest, as they say, is local retail history.

“It’s been a hell of a ride,” Hays said. “I could not have written a better life story for myself.”