Co-owner, Son’s Jewelry & Watch Repair
4401 Government St.
In Mid City since: 1995
Long before the hippest new restaurants popped up or fizzled out along Government Street, the strip had all the other no-frills neighborhood essentials: laundromats, loan offices, tattoo and barber shops, law firms. Among them: a go-to for watch and jewelry repairs.
How did you end up in Mid City?
My dad, Son, has been in this industry for almost 40 years. He started out at Godchaux’s downtown in the ’80s, and I grew up learning the trade from him. In 1995, we opened this Mid City location, because it was far enough away from the downtown store but still close so that we could easily go back and forth between the two.
What would you say is the role of Son’s Jewelry & Watch Repair in Mid City?
We’ve been in Mid City for 23 years, and most of our customers are old customers that we’ve built relationships with over years and years. A lot of the people in this area are bringing in items that are very expensive, and they trust us enough to leave those items with us.
In those 23 years, how have you seen Mid City change?
Up until probably five or six years ago, the area was pretty much stagnant. There was nothing new going up, and everything that was around had been here forever. But within the last couple of years, they’ve tried to revamp this whole area starting with the Government Street [road diet]. Personally, I don’t know how that’s going to affect us yet, which is scary. We’re one of only two watch repair shops in the city, but because we are on Government Street it may deter a driving customer from wanting to turn in.
What is your hope for where the neighborhood is headed?
Well, the Government Street project is going to be the first test for us and the other businesses around here. So I’m just hoping that it not only won’t affect us as far as traffic goes, but that it actually helps us. Having more people actually walking in the area opens up the chance they’ll walk into a business for the first time just to check it out.
Read more on Mid City’s rapid growth in Baton Rouge from our October 2018 cover story.
