![\"\"](\"https:\/\/static.timesnewsgroup.com.au\/prod\/uploads\/sites\/24\/2024\/07\/JoePaulMenswear-12_40138.jpg\")
<\/p>\nHIGH-end clothing store Joe Paul Menswear is making a triumphant return to a prime corner of Hargreaves Mall.<\/p>\n
Paul Kapsalis and Joe Care are celebrating the re-opening of their shop in the former Sportsco outlet.<\/p>\n
Many will recall their original venue being damaged beyond repair following the much-publicised arson attack on the adjacent tobacco shop in summer.<\/p>\n
Mr Kapsalis described January’s fire as “devastating.”<\/p>\n
“When it started, I got a phone call at 4.57am. I remember it exactly,” he said.<\/p>\n
“It was a call from my security company because the alarms were triggered. I thought someone had broken into the shop.<\/p>\n
“Then I get another phone call and they say, ‘we think your shop’s on fire, next door’s burnt.’<\/p>\n
“I rushed here and it’s this huge scene, and I had to wait until probably six or seven at night before they actually let me in.<\/p>\n
“Then I just knew everything was gone. Everything.”<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
<\/p>\n
Mr Kapsalis said he was never tempted to take the easy route and reopen in the Marketplace.<\/p>\n
“I’d rather be on the street, especially as an independent retailer,” he said.<\/p>\n
“You don’t want to be choked by their regulations, whereas here there’s a lot of things that I can do.<\/p>\n
“For me, this is a new beginning. This is a clean slate. It almost feels like it’s my first day in Bendigo.<\/p>\n
“We’ve put a lot of work into the fit-out, a lot of heart to get it to look how it is now. I’m just really excited for people to see it.”<\/p>\n
The close-knit pair of Mr Kapsalis and Mr Care met while working together at Man to Man in Shepparton when Mr Kapsalis was just 15 years old.<\/p>\n
The store went into liquidation in 2016 and they took their chance at independent ownership, opening their own business in the same location.<\/p>\n
“From there, we opened in Echuca in December 2019 and in 2021 we bought Peter Anthony’s – that was for sale – and we had always wanted to come to Bendigo.”<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
HIGH-end clothing store Joe Paul Menswear is making a triumphant return to a prime corner of Hargreaves Mall. Paul Kapsalis and Joe Care are celebrating the re-opening of their shop in the former Sportsco outlet. Many will recall their original venue being damaged beyond repair following the much-publicised arson attack on the adjacent tobacco shop […]<\/p>\n