Gallo Men’s Clothier opens on Monroe Street

The first was in the overall Madison area that he believes has a hole when it comes to buying a suit at a locally-owned store.

And then there was the space, located in the heart of the Monroe Street business district and surrounded by some of Madison’s most well established and home-grown retailers. They include the likes of Orange Tree Imports, Strictly Discs, Mystery To Me bookshop and Neuhauser Pharmacy, founded in 1914 at the end of the city’s trolley line and three years before the construction of Camp Randall Stadium. 

Gallo, who has spent nearly 25 years selling suits, has transformed the 3,500-square-foot space, that for more than 30 years was home to Paragon Video & Stereo, into Gallo Men’s Clothier, one of the few locally-owned suit shops in the city.

The shop, which opened late last month at 1905 Monroe Street, has an inventory of about 600 suits in a wide range of size and starting at $199 and topping out at $2,295. Major brands include Canali, Jack Victor, Ring Jacket and Satorio.

“I believe in offering value at every price point,” said Gallo. “It doesn’t matter what price point you’re at. Everybody gets top service. I want to help guys look good. It’s important to me.”

The shop, spread out over three levels and accented with birch, maple and oak, also carries ties, belts, no-iron cotton shirts and shoes from Magnamni in Spain and from Johnson & Murphy’s Italian collection. More casual clothing in the store includes vests, jeans, athletic wear and sweaters. The store’s three dressing rooms are decorated in sports themes while a 65-inch flat screen television that hangs on a wall streams the latest sporting events.

Primary competitors for Gallo include national retailers like Men’s Warehouse, Von Mauer, IndoChino and Macy’s. Locally-owned stores that sell suits include Lucca Fine Men’s Clothing, that in 2017 modified its business model by moving out of its traditional retail space adjacent to Strictly Discs and into an appointment-based service at 110 E. Main Street. The former Lucca space on Monroe Street is now home to Hive, a 1,700-square-foor outdoor clothing retailer that opened in 2017 and is directly across the street from Gallo.

Jazzman, a men’s clothing store that opened in 1980 on State Street, also sell suits ranging from $300 to $500. The brands, according to owner Paul Strong, include Tallia, Au Noir and Paisley and Gray.

“I think there’s definitely more room in the marketplace for more men’s wear,” said Strong. “I don’t look at it as competition but as another option. It’s good for shopping and it’s good for Madison.”

Gallo’s clientele will include business owners, doctors, attorneys, politicians, sales people and those who work at UW-Madison but he hopes that about 30% of his business will come from events like weddings. He has one package that starts at $199 and includes the suit, shirt and tie. But it’s not a rental package.

“Why rent when you can buy,” said Gallo, as he stood on the store’s third level that overlooks the main entrance below. “I’m different, because a guy comes in and I have his size. Guys are all built differently. A guy could be tall and skinny and the next guy could be a bigger guy. I want guys to feel good in here.”

Gallo, 49, who grew up in New York and has an MBA in entrepreneurial leadership from the University of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, spent more than four years in the banking industry but for more than 20 years after worked as a buyer and store manager for Halberstadt’s Men’s Clothier in Sioux Falls. When he started with the company, it had just a few stores and has now grown to 10 locations in six Midwestern states.

“I was buying at a large scale and that’s definitely helped me in getting my vendors,” said Gallo. “It’s all about vendor relationships, it’s very important.”

Gallo and his wife, Cindy, a nurse, have three children and in June moved from South Dakota to settle in Waunakee. 

Gallo looked at spaces for his store throughout Madison but said the former Paragon building, constructed in 1958 as a state-of-the-art dental clinic, provided not only a unique store layout but a central location for those coming from throughout Dane County and beyond. The building, that had been filled with vintage audio equipment, had sat unused for a couple of years. The overhead sign above the front door received a new covering while the interior underwent a major renovation to prepare it for its next mission. 

“I wanted to turn something that wasn’t nice into something beautiful but I wanted to keep the charm of the building,” Gallo said. “I just know that if I trust the process, we’ll do some business.”