From Harness Shop to Leather Vendor: Luttmann's Luggage Packs Bags for Good

Matthew Hersh

In Princeton's ever-evolving streetscape, there are some landmarks that remind long-time residents that while the town is changing, some things stay the same.

Two weeks ago, Princeton lost one of those landmarks.

Luttmann's Luggage, the leather goods mainstay at 20 Witherspoon Street, closed its doors for good after 101 years that saw changing business climates and several owners.

"The store has made it through a lot of difficult times; it's just the circumstances were such that we couldn't run it anymore," according to 11-year owner Frank Ricatto, who said his business had been in overall decline since 9/11, when the travel industry initially faltered and the blow absorbed by Luttmann's was too great to bear.

The decision to close the store, which was opened by William Luttmann as a harness shop in the pre-automobile era, came in June, after the owner had tried for months to sell the store that Mr. Ricatto calls an "institution."

When those efforts ultimately fell through, the store, which has benefited over the years from the presence of Mr. Ricatto's daughter, Tiffany, and employees Jennifer Shade and Karen Rosenbaum, was forced to close.

"In recent years, the whole concept of travel didn't have the excitement, vigor, or the joy that travel used to have attached to it when you would feel really good about the experience," he said.

And though the travel industry has rebounded, Mr. Ricatto said that the security now employed at airports has deterred people from buying upscale luggage, and encouraged travelers to purchase products suited more for basic utility.

"The price points dropped in regard to customers buying higher quality luggage ‹ it wasn't the item of interest anymore."

He also cited last year's temporary reduction in parking on the Tulane Street surface parking lot as a factor the kept the store from fully rebounding.

Overall, he said, it was simply difficult to "maintain the numbers."

But he and his staff certainly tried.

"My daughter and I started together: you tend to be passionate about something, drive forward as aggressively as you can, you're dedicated to it, you believe in it, and you know you have a group of employees who can be trusted to accomplish what we set out to do.

"We really did expect this thing to succeed."

It was his emotional connection to the store, Mr. Ricatto said, that blinded him to the fact that the numbers were coming up short every month, leading to a 50 percent decline in business. "That's how we got caught by surprise when we realized that it was not going to be able to run on its own anymore."

Luttmann's closing is clearly a disappointment to the Ricattos and to the store's customer base, but Mr. Ricatto said he is trying to take the entire situation in stride.

"One thing that's constant in all of business is change ‹ everyone says that," he said, adding that there are always competitors and industry trends that factor into any business.

Downtown Princeton has been witness to these trends for years. Second only to Kopp's Cycles as the oldest business in town, Luttmann's has yielded to the oldest rule in business: change.

Luttmann's customers expecting service returns are asked to e-mail: fricatto1207@verizon.net.