At Jack Henry, a Family Realizes Its Father's Dream

The family we are pleased to honor here is the Arvanitakis family, a pillar of community life and men's wear retailing in Kansas City. The family business, founded in 1963 by Peter Arvanitakis, was named Peter's Custom Tailoring & Clothing. It embodied all the values of quality and personal service that he had learned as a tailor at Jack Henry, a landmark store, as well as an appreciation for fine things, one of the few possessions he brought with him as an immigrant from Greece.

Today the family business is the Jack Henry store itself, owned and very closely operated by Peter's sons - Spiro, George, Jerry - with the assistance of his daughter, Andriana, and the expert advice of his widow, Mary, and according to the lessons taught by Peter himself.

Peter's admiration for Jack Henry - both the store and the proprietor -- evolved into ownership by his family when the business became available for purchase in November of 1995. The brothers could not see anyone else being able to do justice to its legacy. Their success today is founded largely on two pillars that were already in place - Jack Henry's core lines of traditional upscale merchandise, and the personalized service of custom tailoring incorporated into ready-made clothing.

Tradition, however, is an ongoing process, and it was in this spirit that the family introduced an appreciation for fine European clothing, part of a "higher degree of sophistication," according to Spiro.

George is also acutely aware of change. He notes that "In the past, sportswear was the growing trend. I get the sense that the trend now is for people to be more dressed up, less casual."

Jerry recalls the reaction to an ultra-suede sportcoat he wore as a teenager: They looked at me and said, 'Wow! He's really dressed! That's the same sort of passion we try to instill in our customers."

According to Andriana, her father "tried to bribe me to join the business in any way possible, but I always wanted to be a doctor." She did become a doctor, but says, "I volunteer at the store when I can, because I want to be involved."

And Mary, remembering her husband, recalls, "He was a perfectionist. Work stimulated him, he loved creating things."

As a footnote to the above, let it be noted that Private Stock Neckwear is proud to be one of Jack Henry's "upscale traditional" lines, and part of the Arvanitakis family tradition.