Sarasota big and tall retailer to shutter after nearly 50 years

A store that has been part of Sarasota’s retail landscape for nearly half a century is going out of business. King James Big & Tall will shutter at the end of October after 47 years in operation.

“Competition from big box stores and online retailers has made continuing unsustainable,” Ron Hudson, co-owner of King James Big & Tall, says in an email to the Business Observer.

Businessman Jim Montoney opened the first King James Big & Tall store in Sarasota in 1978 at the old Snelling Plaza, he says.