If you had walked along Market Street — today’s 2nd Avenue — in 1855, you would’ve seen Nashville’s gentlemen dressed with unmistakable intention. Frock coats brushed neatly at the knee, waistcoats sat snug beneath starched detachable collars, and slim trousers announced both form and status. A proper hat and gloves finished the look. Yet the real marker of distinction wasn’t only what a man wore, but where he got it. In those days, only a select few merchant tailors — master craftsmen who owned their shops and shaped the city’s early fashion identity — supplied Nashville’s most discerning dressers. For 170 years, Levy’s Clothier has walked in tandem with the citizenry of Nashville. And as the city changed, so did the clothier.
The year 1855 was a strong one for Nashville. The Cumberland River provided access to commerce, and business was booming. Market Street was a flurry of activity, as storefronts — including merchant tailors R.C. Andersen & Co., Harvey & Keating, L. Powers, and Sam Pritchett — bustled with activity. The Hume School, the city’s first public school, opened. The Daily Nashville True Whig began printing under the new name the Nashville Daily Patriot. And Zadoc Levy, a young German immigrant, opened a merchant tailor shop on Market Street in the middle of the young city’s bustling commercial area.
With its commitment to craft and welcoming feel, Zadoc’s shop became a community gathering space. On their way to work, gentlemen would stop in to replace a collar or a button — and eventually, grab a cup of coffee. After all, the mix of residential and commercial spaces made Market Street an easy stop.
After the Civil War ended, Nashville’s engine of progress was full steam ahead. In the early 1900s, Union Station opened and further expanded the city’s role in commercial transport, just as the Cumberland River had a century before. The Tennessee State Fair was established, and The Hermitage Hotel, Nashville’s first million-dollar hotel, opened. Around the same time, Levy’s moved to 5th Avenue to be closer to major shopping centers. At the turn of the century, department stores moved to the neighborhood, as Castner-Knott opened in 1898, Cain-Sloan in 1903, and Harveys in 1942.
Levy’s went on to change locations two more times — moving to a storefront on 6th Avenue in 1948, and then settling in its current Green Hills location in 1978.
As decades passed, Zadoc’s descendents gradually took over the store. First, his son Rathfield Z. Levy — then Herbert Z. Levy, then Alfred Levy. Today, David Levy helms the store, which has become the oldest family-owned men’s clothing business in the United States. Despite these changes in leadership, Levy’s legacy has endured through its commitment to quality fabrics and service in the first degree. Merchant tailors were known as masters of their craft, and Zadoc’s unmatched attention to detail passed from generation to generation.
And the store feels as welcoming as it did in 1855. “Walking into Levy’s is like walking into a community where everyone knows your name and your story,” David says. He adds that he feels excited about coming to work each day because the store tells a generational story. Levy’s has outfitted young men entering the workforce, dressed grooms preparing for their wedding day, and even helped families find suits for funerals.
Take one loyal customer, whose son was getting married. As a special treat, the customer bought not only his son’s tuxedo, but also the tuxedos of all of the groomsmen. Then, he arranged a reunion in Chicago a year later so the men could wear their tuxedos again. “To be involved in stories like this is a privilege,” David says. “Everybody is different, and everybody has a different story.”