About W.C. Brown & Sons

An institution on Elmira’s main street, W.C. Brown & Sons has been providing the clothes that make the man for over 85 years.  William Conrad Brown set up shop on the block that now houses the Bank of Montreal, two years later he moved the operation to its current home, where his sons and later, his grandsons continued his commitment to tailoring and haberdashery.

The values he established then continue today under the ownership of his grandson, Robert Brown. “He was very dedicated”, recalls Howard Brown, William’s Son and Rob’s Dad. “He put in long hours – he was one of those people who came in at 5am and got a lot of work done before any customers came in” At age 88, Howard continues to work with the family business, matching the prowess of his father who worked until he was 83.

It’s been some 20 years since William passed away at the ripe age of 90, but he lives on in spirit. Howard’s been with the shop for its entire Elmira history, but his experience goes back to his dad’s previous stop in Fergus. W.C., a native of the Heidelberg area, had started his tailoring business in St.Jacobs in 1922, following that with stops in Mitchell and Fergus before settling in Elmira.

Originally a tailor shop, the business then added dry cleaning to the mix. The retail component appeared in 1945 at the end of the Second World War. Today, the retail portion is a mainstay of the business. As more ready-to-wear clothing appeared and people had more choice, off-the-rack became a more popular option. We serve a range of customers, from older teens looking for casual wear to businessmen looking for a quality good-fitting suit. This diversity has caused some fairly significant expansion at the shop. The first changes came when the third generation of Browns, Rob and Brother David, bought the business from Howard and his brother John in 1987. Since taking sole ownership in 1998, Rob has almost doubled the size of the store. Working at the store since he was 15, it was 1977 and the fashion world was, well still in the ‘70s, Rob had spent much of his prior years learning the ins and outs of the business.

Now, the fourth generation of browns is part of the picture, with Rob’s sons Jordan and Collin, spending time working for the cause since they were 15. William never said much about us all working together, at one point there was three generations working here. With Rob’s Son in the picture and Howard still at it, Once again three generations can be found behind the counter.

- Browns