Today we’d like to introduce you to Norma, Cynthia Elisa, Crystal, Joe, Jose Torres Jr.
Norma, Jose, Cynthia Elisa, Crystal and Joe, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Torres Omar Jewelers is a small, family-owned business that has been serving Chicago for the past 37 years in the heart of Logan Square. Our story begins with my grandparents, Jose and Maria Torres, who immigrated from a small, rural town, “El Tecolote” in Guanajuato, Mexico to pursue the American Dream. They came to the United States with just five dollars and their hopes and dreams for a better life for their family.
Our grandmother’s brother advised her to begin selling jewelry in the factory where my grandparents worked so they could make extra money. Their business grew rapidly as word began to spread about their unique merchandise. After realizing the potential of their business, they took a leap of faith and rented out their first shop on Wabash Avenue, also known as Jewelers Row. The business was doing well, and in 1980, they bought their own storefront in Lakeview at 3927 N. Sheridan Rd.
In 1994 they brought their second store in Logan Square at 2624 N. Milwaukee Avenue, which was previously called Omar Jewelers. Out of respect of the previous owner, Omar, they decided to keep the name and combine it to be called, Torres Omar, combining the past with the present.
My father, Jose Torres Jr., most commonly known as “Pepe” and mother, Norma Torres serve as the second generation continuing the family business. Celebrating 28 years of marriage as high school sweethearts, Pepe and Norma Torres began working together at the young age of 18. Pepe’s career began at a young age, in the back of the shop, where he would polish and steam all the merchandise for the customers. As he grew older and began learning more about the business, he took on more responsibilities within the store.
Eventually, Pepe took over so his dad could retire. Since then, Pepe has operated the business with a commitment to old-fashion family values and close attention to detail, which have been the bedrock to the success of Torres Omar Jewelers. The family-centered values of Torres Omar Jewelers have been the driving force behind all the hard-working employees who realize the importance of understanding and catering to each and every customer who come from all walks of life. Norma serves as the CFO, managing the business finances, accounting, office and also uses her creative talents by maintaining beautiful storefront windows and merchandise.
Norma adds her unique, creative flair to the business as she creates beautiful jewelry designs and displays. Norma and Pepe compliment each other well and their hard work and dedication make Torres Omar Jewelry what it is today. They lead a team of employees to deliver great customer service and treat everyone with care and respect like as if they are family.
The third generation joined the family jewelry business recently. Norma and Jose Torres have three children, Cynthia, Crystal, and Joe Torres. Their oldest daughter, Cynthia Elisa Torres now works at the store full-time as the COO. Cynthia expressed her passion for the jewelry business and assists her parents with the operations, sales, and marketing for the business.
Teaming up with her younger brother, Joe Torres, who helps manage the business’ social media like Facebook and Instagram, they have been able to attract and appeal to new generations of clients to shop small and support local businesses. The siblings are teaming up with other small business owners and collaborating together to bring about a new market in the jewelry business.
Combining the old traditional style of small business customer service and new social media avenues, Cynthia and Joe want to conserve the family business’ legacy and reputation, while adding a new creative spin on it using styles and trends that resonate with their generation of Millenials.
Alongside their parents, the Torres family is working on an exclusive line of jewelry this coming 2018, called the Legacy collection, that will reflect both old-school designs paying homage and respect to the past and adding new, unique pieces that highlight the present day. Three generations of a family legacy will be combined to create custom jewelry pieces that can only be found exclusively at Torres Omar Jewelers. As the third generation of this family business, we are excited for what is yet to come and look forward to serving future generations in Chicago for many more years.
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Building and maintaining the family business has not been easy as we have certainly been met with some obstacles along the way. We were very fortunate to survive the recent recession and other financial hardships throughout the years. The jewelry business relies heavily upon the market value of gold and over the years the price of gold has gone up and has made it more difficult for consumers to purchase our merchandise.
We remain very competitive with our prices, but it has proven very difficult when going against big companies and franchises. We believe our secret recipe to overcoming these challenges is continuing to stay true to our reputation as honest, hardworking people that treat our customers like family.
Thanks to our loyal customers and Pepe and Norma’s hard work, we were able to celebrate our 37 year anniversary and continue to succeed in the jewelry business. We feel very thankful and blessed to have such great customers and welcome them to be part of the Torres Omar Jewelers family.
Torres Omar Jewelers – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Torres Omar Jewelers specializes in fine jewelry including, diamonds, 14k gold, watches, custom jewelry and jewelry repair. We are proud to have an in-house jewelry shop where we do all our jewelry repairs, which allows us to meet the needs of our customers by offering them quick, convenient, and quality service. Torres Omar Jewelers has a vast selection of unique merchandise that is imported from all over the world, such as Italy, Turkey, Mexico, Spain, and Israel.
We have jewelers and watch repair men with over 30 years of experience that work in-house. Our unparalleled service sets us apart from others as we go above and beyond to make our customers happy. Our showroom is open seven days a week which gives our clients opportunities to come in for shopping and repairs all week long. We love when our clients come back time and time again because they feel like they’re a part of our extended family.
As a small family business, we want to continue to serve future generation and hope that our legacy will live on. We are a family owned business that believes that by treating customers with respect and honesty we create long lasting relationships with our clients.
Some of our loyal customers over the past years include Mexican boxer Julio Cesar Chavez, former White Sox players Dayan Viciedo and Alexei Ramirez and ex-Chicago Cub Arismendy Alcantara and Alcantara’s Cincinnati Red’s teammate, Raisel Iglesias. Other famous clientele includes The Weeknd, Grammy-nominated Chicago hip-hop star Vic Mensa, artist, and producer Mano.
We have also attracted local artists like Joey Purp, Towkio, Hollywood Holt and Antoine “Sir Michael Rocks” Reed. We have had the pleasure to work with these clients to make them the unique custom pieces they desire. We take great pride in our work and want to share our passion and love of jewelry with our clients. We look forward to continuing the tradition on custom jewelry work that makes us stand out from other businesses. With our in-house jewelry shop, we are able to create all our custom pieces at our store and add that personal touch that most big box chains cannot offer.
What is “success” or “successful” for you?
We define our success by our long-lasting reputation in the community. As a family business, we uphold the value and importance of family in our lives. We define success through our family’s happiness, as well as making our customers’ families happy.
Our greatest joy is when we have clients come back and share with us their personal stories of how they gifted the perfect gift to their loved ones or they were able to restore a personal family heirloom that has been passed down from generation to generation. Success to us means giving back to our community that has helped us continue on for the past 37 years. The Torres Omar Jewelers family loves to give back to the community by sponsoring local neighborhood events, donating gifts, supporting scholarship funds and giving back our time in volunteer efforts.
Over the years, Torres Omar Jewelers have been very dedicated to giving back to the community through numerous sponsorships and volunteer work. Owners and family of Torres Omar Jewelers have even been recognized by State Representatives for their contributions to the community.
We want to give back what the community has given back to us and worked hard every day to show our love and appreciation. We strive to serve as a positive example by showing that hard work pays off in the end and that as a united family we can overcome any obstacles that come our way.
Family means a lot to us and take great pride in the fact that we are a small family business that works to serve the needs of our customers’ families. We plan to ring in the New Year by reflecting on our obstacles, celebrating our successes, and planning our future to continue serving the Chicago community we love as our very own family.
Contact Info:
- Address: 2624 North Milwaukee Avenue
Chicago, IL 60647 - Website: www.torresomarjewelers.com
- Phone: (773) 895-7826
- Email: info@TorresOmarJewelers.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/torresomarjewlr
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TorresOmarJewelers
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/TorresOmarJewlr
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/torres-omar-jewelers-chicago
- Other: https://www.bbb.org/chicago/business-reviews/jewelers-retail/torres-omar-jewelry-in-chicago-il-88293249
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