Valente's Men's Formal Wear
Valente's Men's Formal Wear was a chain of suit and tuxedo shops founded in 1954. The store on Gratiot was originally a furniture warehouse, but was later bought by Valente's and became one of their 29 locations across Michigan. The first floor was the sales area, with the second and third floors for storage and cleaning. The building was expanded in 1972 with the construction of an addition, but business began to slip in the late 1970's. After filing for bankruptcy in 1986, Valente's closed most of its locations, including the Gratiot store. It was vacant from the 1990's until its demolition in July of 2013.
The Valente's name still lives on, at store on Mack Avenue in Grosse Pointe and another store in Sterling Heights.
