Rivoli Mills in East Lake is closing after half a century in business. Click to enlarge all our photos.
Rivoli Mills in East Lake is closing its doors after half a century in business.
The facility on East 28th Street near Dodds Avenue made knit golf shirts, but was a casualty of foreign imports.
"The demand dwindled. Everything is being made offshore," Myra Hale said.
She said the firm once had two plants and a large workforce, but the Jasper, Tn., plant was closed last June and the East Lake workforce had been trimmed to 40.
Rivoli Mills was founded by Wolfe Lefkoff, and the current owner is his son, Paul Lefkoff.
Some workers had been at the plant practically the whole time it was open, Ms. Hale said.
She said one worker was 78 "and another is close to that."
A For Sale sign is now in front of the two-story brick facility next to the East Lake housing project.