Merril Moses, left, established Moses Jewelers in 1949. The Clearview Mall location of the business, which opened in 1981, is closing, according to Merril's son Tim Moses, right, who co-owns the business with his brother, Larry (not pictured). The family's Seven Fields location will remain open.

Moses Jewelers is closing its store in the Clearview Mall in Center Township.

One of the original tenants when the mall opened in October 1981, the store began an inventory liquidation sale Thursday.

Larry Moses, co-owner of the business with his brother, Tim, said the Moses Jewelers location at 524 Northpointe Circle in Seven Fields will remain open.

Larry Moses said the final closing of the mall store hasn't been determined yet.

“We don't have a final date yet. It will be in a few months, sometime after Christmas,” he said.

Tim Moses said there were several reasons for their decision.

“Mainly, the Clearview Mall's current occupancy level is 50%. It's getting more and more difficult to sustain a viable business in that environment,” he said.

And, he added, the COVID-19 pandemic created more difficulties for the business.

The Clearview Mall location employed seven people. Longtime store manager Tom Good will transfer to the Seven Fields location.

“The Seven Fields location is doing very well,” Tim Moses said.

Their watchmaker father, Merril Moses, established Moses Jewelers in a small 12-by-15-foot store in Lyndora in 1949.

Since that time, Moses Jewelers moved to downtown Butler, opened a second store in the Clearview Mall and later the Seven Fields location in 2008.

At age 94, Merril Moses is no longer involved in the business, but still visits the mall daily, said Tim Moses.

“I just want to emphasize our thanks and appreciation for the support from the community, and emphasize our continued desire to serve the Butler community,” said Tim Moses.

He said the jeweler will offer home pickup and delivery.

“We remain full-service jewelers. The future is bright,” he said.