Gardendale Jewelers, located at 1226 Main Street, is owned by Bob Boffa.

The business can be reached at 631-3307. The store can be found on the Internet via www.gardendalejewelers.com.

The store is open from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays and from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. on Saturday. The store is closed on Sundays and is open by appointment only on Wednesday.

Boffa has owned the store since 1992, though he’s been in the retail business since he was 16 years old. He was previously the manager of Golbro and Service Merchandise stores in Birmingham.

He and his wife, Bobbie, have five children.

Boffa provided the following information about his business:



• What services / products do you provide? “We do jewelry appraisals, sell diamonds and precious stones, gold, mens and ladies watches and we buy gold. That’s our big business right now. Several times a month we have to put up our “not buying gold” sign.



• Why should someone use your services over a competitor? “Our customers are made to feel at home. We don’t do a pressure sale and we have a five-year warranty on our diamonds. We also have a lifetime trade-in policy that allows what they paid for it.”



• What’s been your greatest success as a jeweler? “I get to see people before they’re engaged through when they have children. They become more than customers; they’re part of our family.”



• Are you offering any sales or specials? “We’ve got all kinds of sales going on. All of our diamonds are on sale and our watches for Father’s Day.”



• What future plans do you have for your business? “We’re looking around to see if there is any place we can purchase to make it grow.”



• Is your line of work something you would recommend to someone else? “It’s definitely something you have to be a people person for. A lot of our customers who come through the door are like family members coming back. The store isn’t about the diamonds or the gold. It’s about the reputation the store holds.”