Westwood Store Closing After 40 Years, Owner Opening Hospital Gift Shop

Beverly Adler is getting ready to close her Westwood store, Arts & Ends, for the last time this May.

Arts & Ends has changed a lot since it opened 40 years ago. Originally an art store, Adler began selling some handmade jewelry and clothing. As trends changed and her customers began asking for designer brands, Adler continued to transform the store into the modern clothing shop it is today.

"You can't keep it the same," Adler said. "You have to change, to keep up with trends."

Adler calls it retirement, but really it's just another change. She will be taking over the gift shop at HackensackUMC at Pascack Valley when the hospital opens June 1.

In the shop, Adler said she plans to continue carrying some jewelry and women's fashion tops, but will expand more into gifts that will help make patients comfortable during their stays, like slippers, reading glasses, books, puzzles, scarves and decorative pill boxes and mugs. There will also be items for young children and a baby department, she said.

"I'm excited about it," Adler said. "Whatever I do, I get very enthusiastic about it."

While Arts & Ends will be closing, the location will remain in the family. Adler's daughter, a designer and clothing buyer in New York, is planning to remodel and rename the store with a focus on the "tween" crowd. She also plans to run a design studio from the location.

In the meantime, Arts & Ends is having a sale on all their merchandise. They will be closing in late May to ensure that Adler has time to prepare the gift shop before the hospital opens. When she does get to "retire" next month, Adler said she hopes to improve her golf game and spend more time playing tennis, at the gym and with her grandchildren.

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