Don McKeehan, left, and David Pinckard opened the David-Lynn Store downtown in 1973. The two had previously worked at the Fred Moore Men's Shop downtown. Photo by Rick Harris

David-Lynn not only sells men's clothing, but hosts a Saturday morning coffee club

By Rozella Hardin
STAR STAFF
rhardin@starhq.com

   "There's not another town like Elizabethton," declares David Pinckard, who with Don McKeehan own and operate David-Lynn's Men Store on Elk Avenue.
   "Don opens up every morning at 7 o'clock, and the coffee has been made and the store swept by the time I come in," said David, who has a smile that reaches across town.
   David and Don opened their store on Elk Avenue in 1973, after having worked at Fred Moore's Men Shop, which was located near the railroad tracks on Elk Avenue. "I started there in 1966, and Don started in 1970 and worked at Fred Moore's while attending college. That's how he got through college," David said.
   "When Don finished college, we decided to open our own store, and we've been here ever since. Our store is different in that we not only know our customers by name, but we know the kind of clothing they like, their sizes and their colors," David explained.
   "We sell a lot of suits, and during the summer we sell bunches of golf shirts," he said.
   The business also employs three full-time alterationists. "We do everything from pants and suits to wedding dresses. We do a ton of that kind of stuff. When you buy something from us, and take it out of this store, it's tailored to fit you and ready to wear," David said.
   Because of the alteration business and the number of women who shop for their husbands, there usually are more women in the store than men -- that is except on Saturday morning, when David and Don have their own coffee club. "We had 22 in here on a recent Saturday morning," David said.
   The men gather in the back, where there is coffee and a television. They discuss everything from ball scores, ball teams and the weather to local and national politics. "You'd better be ready to both take it and dish it out if you come in here," David said.
   Some of the "coffee group" come in during the week, but the biggest group is on Saturday. "We've even had them to call here from the Courthouse to find out things," David said with his ever mischievous smile.
   On the more serious side, David said the most difficult part of the business is trying to guess what styles are going to be a year from now. "We buy almost all our inventory a year ahead of time, and because we have to buy so far ahead, it's difficult to know what's going to be in," he said.
   He says one of the pluses of being downtown is easy access and convenience. "We are fortunate in that unlike many small towns, we still get a lot of traffic downtown. We have folks that come from Bristol and Boone to shop here. The antique stores and other specialty shops bring a lot of good clientele to the downtown. They will visit the antique stores, maybe stop in at one of the food places, and will visit us," he said.
   "We do need more and better retail stores downtown, but we are in pretty good shape for a town of our size," he opined.
   He noted that not one time had he or Don had to vacuum the store or sweep out front. "We've not even had to hire anyone or ask anyone. Our loafers do it for us. For a long time, Bill Trivette came and did it. Now, Doc Emmert does it. If he's not here to do it, Coach Perkins or Doc Thompson or someone else will do it. There's not another town where this would happen except in Elizabethton," declared David.
   A sign hanging inside the store pretty much sums up the sales philosophy of David and Don. It is entitled "Oats" and reads as follows: "Buying merchandise from us is like buying oats. If you want nice, clean fresh oats, you must pay a fair price. If on the other hand, you want oats that have already been through the horse, then, the price would be considerably less."