It's the end of an era for Arvin's pawn, downtown Macon icon
Alan Goldman has beaten the odds.
He has owned Arvin's pawn and jewelry store on Poplar Street for 50 years. It's the same business -- under different names -- he bought from his uncle and that his grandfather started more than 100 years ago.
Many business experts say few family-owned businesses survive the third generation.
But while Goldman has had a successful run, the pawnshop's legacy will end when he closes the downtown store after holding going-out-of-business sales. He expects the shop will close no later than March.
At 78, Goldman doesn't look his age.
"I've kept myself at a pretty good weight," he said. "I walk in the morning four or five days a weeks. I walk three or four miles. When I'm working, I'm back and forth up and down these steps 10 times a day.
"I don't ever sit. ... It's a retail business. You do what you have to do."
But he is ready to move on to the next phase of his life.
When he locks the doors for the last time, "I'll be sad -- not as much about the business but my customers," he said. "We've always had a tremendous relationship with a lot of people, and I'll miss seeing them."
Josh Rogers, the president/CEO of NewTown Macon, said Arvin's will be missed, and Goldman's dedication sets the bar for other business owners.
"Locally owned, family-operated businesses are the lifeblood of downtown, and Mr. Goldman's multigenerational commitment to customer service is an example and a challenge for other entrepreneurs," Rogers said.
Goldman is selling store merchandise to the general public and is selling the loan part of his business to Sandy Harris, who owns a chain of pawnshops called Money Mizer Pawns & Jewelers throughout Georgia, Alabama and Florida. The Money Mizer store in Macon is at 2540 Riverside Drive.
"(Harris) runs his business the same way I do," Goldman said.
Goldman notified his loan customers late last month.
WATCH REPAIRS EARLY ON
His maternal grandfather, who emigrated from Russia in 1907, opened a watch repair store in the 400 block of Poplar that quickly evolved into a pawnshop as well. Named after his grandfather, it was called Louis Avrunin Pawn and Jewelry. The business moved to Arvin's current location in the 1920s.
In the late '30s, his grandfather told his father that Macon could use another pawnshop, so his father opened the former Security Loan office on Mulberry Street. He was in business from 1938 to 1968.
Meanwhile, when Goldman's uncle came back from World War II, he took over Louis Avrunin Pawn on Poplar and renamed it after himself, Soloman Avunrin Pawn and Jewelry.
Goldman was born in a Virginia hospital, but he's lived in Georgia since he was 3 months old.
"I wouldn't want to tell anyone I was born anywhere but Macon, Georgia, because it's the only place I care about," he said.
His first job -- he was about 10 -- was working in his father's pawnshop.
That's where he learned how to treat people.
"The key part of my business is I've always treated my pawn business customers very well," he said. "I don't look down on anybody. I learned that from my mother when I was a kid. In other words, I treat everybody with respect. ... So we try to treat our customers well."
After graduating from Lanier High School in 1959, Goldman attended the University of Georgia. Later, one quarter shy of graduation, he accepted a job offer thinking he would get his degree later. But that didn't happen.
He became a salesman for the former Citizens Jewelry Co. in Atlanta and moved up to merchandise manager during the five years he was there.
"I learned how to operate my business there," he said. "Just working there made me the merchant and salesman I became."
He served six months of active duty and five and half years in the Army Reserves.
At age 29, he came to Macon and bought the pawnshop business from his uncle in 1966. So for two years, he and his father owned separate pawnshops until his father retired.
His uncle wanted Goldman to change the name of the shop, and since a lot of people called it Arvin's because they had trouble pronouncing Avunrin, he changed it to Arvin's.
While he's always sold jewelry and guns, he likes selling jewelry more because guns have "gotten more complicated."
The best part of his job, he says, has been working with pawn customers.
"It's trying to value merchandise, what is that ring worth and what is that gun worth," he said. "That's what's fun, and trying to loan the right amount of money so you can be fair to the customer. And yet know if they leave it, you can make some money on it.
"So it's a win-win situation. A pawnshop is a great business. Some people look down on it, and it has had a negative connotation over the years, but it's one of the best businesses you can be in. It's wonderful."
Rogers said he has enjoyed visiting with Goldman and shopping at his store for several years.
"One thing that stands out to me about Mr. Goldman is his commitment to customer service," he said. "If a client walks in while we're visiting, he immediately excuses himself to help the client with everything he or she needs. ... He is utterly devoted to each customer the entire time they are in his shop."
Also, he said, Goldman "is relentlessly optimistic and encouraging about downtown Macon's future."
Goldman not only owns the building that houses Arvin's, he owns five other properties on Poplar Street. What happens downtown has always been important to him.
"My whole business feels the effects of downtown," he said. "We've never had the traffic we had before the (Macon) Mall opened up (in the mid-'70s). Now it's coming back. The future of downtown is going to be fantastic. This block will be a great block one day."
Rogers agrees and said the buildings "represent one of the largest opportunities downtown for historic tax credit rehabilitation," which should make it attractive to developers.
"Poplar Street is becoming very desirable for lofts, retail and restaurants, so I expect new occupants very soon," he said.
Goldman is especially encouraged by some new developments and renovations, such as the Dannenberg building, which now has lofts and retailers in it. He's also excited about Mercer University's plans for the Capricorn Records building and Sierra Development Group's plan for loft, office and retail development around it.
"I think downtown's future is going to be good," he said. "You get Capricorn (renovated) down there, you are going to get music business down there and more restaurants, more music venues. I wouldn't be surprised if there would be a big-name club. I think it's on the way. I think it will happen in the next few years. ...
"I feel Macon's on the move. ... I've always been optimistic. My glass is always half full. That's my nature."
To contact writer Linda S. Morris, call 744-4223 or follow her on Twitter
Alan Goldman, owner of Arvin's Inc., 516 Poplar St., Macon.
Age, birth place: 78, Alexandria, Virginia.
Family: Wife, Hershene Goldman; children: Staci Shapiro, Brian Goldman and Ronnie Goldman; seven grandchildren.
Education: Lanier High School, 1959; attended University of Georgia.
Personal interests: He has enjoyed traveling and has taken a cruise in Alaska, traveled all over Europe and has been to Scotland, Mexico, Canada and Israel. He recently sold a condo in Hilton Head, South Carolina. "My favorite city in the whole world other than Macon is New York City."
Favorite movies: "I love movies. If I had to choose my favorite movie, I think it would be 'Dances With Wolves.' I also like 'Gone With the Wind' and 'Casablanca.'"
Favorite books: "I like to read history books and biographies and good fiction, like John Grisham. ... I'm fixing to read "Rogue Lawyer' (by Grisham). I read everything he writes. ... My wife and children all tried to give me a Kindle. I don't want a Kindle. I have no desire to look on a computer to read. I want a book."
What will you do after closing the store? "I probably will do some volunteer work. I don't want to be tied down to anything. My wife says I should get a job. But I don't want a job. ... I'll do something. I'm not worried about it."
This story was originally published January 6, 2016 at 9:22 PM with the headline "It's the end of an era for Arvin's pawn, downtown Macon icon ."