Roberto Restucha has one of those life stories that exemplifies the American dream.
He began working in the jewelry business when he was 11 as an apprentice to a watchmaker in South Argentina.
In 1972, he moved to Baltimore to work for the holidays at a jewelry shop and liked it so much he decided to earn his U.S. citizenship. He met his future wife and married her in 1977. Then he moved to North Carolina and worked for awhile under contract for some of the biggest names in jewelry, including Zales, Friedman's and Whitehall.
In 1982, he opened Roberto Jewelers. Since then, he has been a stalwart of the local jewelry trade, operating first in Raleigh's Mini City area and then moving the store to its current home in Quail Corners at Millbrook and Falls of Neuse roads in 1986.
Now, after more than six decades in the jewelry business, at 72, Restucha is retiring.
His daughter, Mercedes, 28, said she and her dad had a pact: "I just finished law school, and we agreed that we'd be done at the same time."
Restucha is having a retirement sale and plans to close shop on Valentine's Day, his father's birthday and a holiday that's obviously significant in the jewelry business.
The closing of Roberto's will be bittersweet for the family, but Mercedes Restucha said she's not worried about her parents filling their days.
"They teach the tango," she said. "They started a group called the Triangle Tangueros [which has come to be called Triangle Tango now]. They want to do lessons through the parks and rec department and retirement homes."
If you attend the Raleigh International Festival, you may already know the Restuchas. They've been doing the tango presentation for Argentina there since 1986.
In Durham's Hope Valley Square at Old Chapel Hill and Shannon roads, three tenants will open this spring: Only Burger, Pop's Backdoor South Pizzeria and the Durham Catering Company, which will relocate from Hillsborough Road.
In Cary at Saltbox Village on Kildaire Farm Road, a fire last week shuttered two businesses temporarily. Opulence of Southern Pines, which sells home goods such as linens and bed and bath items, will reopen in Cary in 2010. Until then, customers can visit or call the company's Southern Pines store or order online. Neighboring Skin Sense day spa also plans to reopen inCary in early 2010. Until then, the company's Cary employees are caring for customers at its two locations in North Raleigh and Brier Creek.
In Raleigh's North Hills, the two-story Harris Teeter in North Hills East has an opening date: Feb. 10. The Harris Teeter across the street will close Feb. 9. There's no word on what may fill that space.
