Longstanding New Orleans clothier Perlis has completed a $2 million renovation of its flagship location at the corner of Magazine and Webster Streets, marking the latest chapter in the store’s 86-year history.

The project, broken down into eight construction phases to keep the store open, modernized the retailer’s two-story, 1980’s building into a more functional, optimized space.

The project was led by local design and construction firms NANO Architecture + Interiors and Ryan Gootee General Contractors. Renovations included updated finishes throughout the sales floor, upgraded back-of-house facilities and administrative offices, custom millwork, LED lighting, new flooring, new paint, installation of new street-facing windows, and a monumental staircase with custom hand-cut glass railings.

“Our goal with this renovation was to make the customer experience more inviting and best utilize both the selling floor and back of house space. We dramatically changed the entrance and stairwell areas as well as added two new large windows to the front of the building to bring in more natural light,” said third-generation owner David W. Perlis.

Perlis added: “These changes allow for a more spacious feel and better flow throughout. I’m proud that the result is exactly what we were hoping to achieve – a more open and inviting space on both sales floors that makes it more comfortable to shop.”

In 1939, Rogers Perlis opened a menswear store that moved to the corner of Magazine and Webster streets shortly after. The store originally sold suits, sport coats, and other men’s apparel items.

That building was renovated in the 1950’s. The current building was initially constructed in 1980 and expanded, including an interior remodel in 2000.

In the 1980s, Rogers’ son David G. Perlis expanded the brand and introduced womenswear, Southern style clothing brands, and Perlis became the first clothing store to offer purple, green, and gold clothing when it introduced Mardi Gras Rugby apparel. Crawfish logo apparel and polo shirts have also become part of the retail store’s signature brands and originality over the years.

David W. Perlis, grandson of the founder and son of David G. Perlis, now runs Perlis. The retailer has grown into four locations (Magazine St., Decatur St., Mandeville, and Baton Rouge), an online store, and 44 employees. Plans for the most recent renovation started before the COVID-19 pandemic and were delayed several years before being relaunched in 2024.

“I think is important for retailers to understand that customers have more options than ever of how and where to shop. Great lighting and an open floor plan help to highlight the merchandise better and allow customers to get in and out more freely,” said Perlis. “Having plentiful adjacent parking is also important. Securing this parking many years ago and remodeling the store every 20 years or so, along with great merchandise and a long tenured professional staff, are the pillars of our success.”

NANO Founder and Managing Principal Terri Dreyer said her architecture firm’s renovation motto on the Perlis project was ‘small, but impactful.’ “Modernizing a legacy brand like Perlis meant striking the right balance between honoring tradition and embracing growth. The goal was to expand the space beyond a traditional men’s shop into a broader, multi-department retail experience,” said Dreyer.

Dreyer added: “With this balance in mind, we focused on creating a more structured yet dynamic shopping experience that enhances product visibility. Perlis has been a rite of passage for generations of New Orleanians, so we kept the customer perspective at the forefront of our plans. The key takeaway? Thoughtful architecture can drive brand evolution and customer engagement.”

The wall behind the window display was demolished, opening the entryway to the store and creating more of a relationship with Magazine St. The new storefront windows bring in natural light, as well as reinforcing the store’s presence both internally and from the street.

“By opening up the entryway and designing a new staircase, we greatly improved accessibility and connectivity. The space is now flooded with natural light that highlights Perlis, its merchandise, and its legacy,” she said. “A minimal modern staircase is a statement piece, seen from Magazine St., but also allows visibility beyond the store.

The staircase is juxtaposed with a double-height wall with custom wallpaper, highlighting historic images of Perlis’s past. The staircase and wall open up the space and also draws the customer to the second floor, which was previously hidden and underutilized.

“The open floor plan and the feature staircase have significantly improved the customer experience and elevated the functionality and style of the space,” said Pat Thomas, RGGC Project Executive.

“The renovation allows customers to better see and access Perlis merchandise. The new staircase is the focal point of this project, and the coordination involved in building it was complex. It is rewarding to see all our hard work pay off in the beautiful, finished product.”

With an understanding and respect for the store’s history, Dreyer said the design emphasized the building’s existing structure by wrapping the structural columns and beams in white oak wood paneling, creating a grid that helped delineate the numerous departments. “We also placed the retail fixtures and furniture within this grid, which provides more order for the customer circulation throughout the store.”

Dreyer said they retained much of the original fixtures and furniture, preserving familiarity, while also incorporating more modern pieces as well. “Natural materials were brought in to add dimension, while a herringbone tile balances durability with timeless style. Historical features were enhanced rather than erased.”

Planning and executing the phases of construction while mitigating business interruption were the biggest challenges faced during course of construction, said Thomas.

“This project was basically split up into 12 miniature projects within a relatively small footprint,” said Thomas. “It required us to plan and execute seamless transitions between phases of construction, while maintaining constant communication among all trade partners and stakeholders to ensure the project was completed in tightly linked sequences. Isolating the phases into mini projects enabled Perlis to keep their operations running during busy seasons.”

The back-of-house area also received a significant overhaul to improve efficiency in storage and employee use, allowing for better visual merchandising on the sales floor. “We wanted to be able to have back stock of merchandise off the selling floor in more categories so that we could make a better visual presentation for the customer of the merchandise,” said Perlis.