Longtime clock & watch repair shop to close

By Rosemary McCoy

After 25 years in business, Davis Clock & Watch Repair is closing.

“We both turned 70 this year, and it’s time. It really is,” said Linda Davis, who owns the business with her husband, Gayland.

The final day is Oct. 19, although both have some jobs to finish up.

Nejla Smith, a certified public accountant, is buying the house-turned-into-office building at 1613 W. 12th St. to start her own business, Compass Tax & Accounting PLLC. She’s planning to open before the new year. They’ve worked out an agreement for Gayland to use the second floor for a year to finish up his backlog of clock repairs, Linda Davis said.

Davis said she has two dozen watches left to do, and then she’ll keep busy posting the remaining inventory of parts on eBay.

Last Chance Auction will auction off the business’ clocks and display cases Oct. 19. The sale will begin about 5 p.m. at Last Chance, which is on the west side of Sioux Falls along Highway 42.

“We have about a half-dozen grandfather clocks and 40-plus wall and mantle clocks,” Davis said.

The clock and watch repair business is a shrinking field, Davis said.

“I did an online search, and in North America there are less than 500 clock and watch repair businesses. We’re the last full-service shop in Sioux Falls.”

She has been referring customers to shops in the Twin Cities where she knows the quality of the work. “Anyone with real talent has a backlog,” she offered as a warning.

Davis started the business out of her home after training to be an horologist in Milwaukee.

“I borrowed $700 and bought a workbench, tools and parts. I grew it, and he joined me 15 years ago,” she said of her husband.

“We always made enough so we didn’t have to quit. It’s always something we’ve enjoyed doing.”

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Longtime clock & watch repair shop to close

Linda and Gayland Davis are retiring, leaving Sioux Falls without a full-service clock and watch repair shop.

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