When Gem Jewelry closes at the end of the year, downtown Gainesville will be without a pure jewelry store for the first time in more than a century.
The store at 111 Bradford St. on the square has been run by the Eplan and Orenstein families since 1936 when Mose Eplan opened it. Marvin Orenstein ran it with his daughters Linda and Temme until he died, and the sisters have operated it since.
Johnny Vardeman: Once, jewelry stores thrived downtown