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Frankel’s Iconic Costume Company Closing Its Doors at the End of the Year

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Tony Maples Photography

 

Frankel’s Costume Company, an iconic shop for Halloween costumes and a staple among the Houston, TX community, is closing its doors at the end of the year. A long-standing institution you might say where everything and anything you needed to get ready for Halloween you could find there. “We have one of the largest selection of Halloween Costumes, Rental Halloween Costumes, Magic Tricks, Ventriloquist Dummies, Halloween Masks, Wigs, Stage Makeup, and Clown Supplies in the south,” their Facebook reads.

Their story began in 1950 when Frankel’s opened its doors as a magic store in downtown Houston with its owner Morty Frankel. “The store named Morty’s Magic Mart was an integral part of the lives of many Houstonians who wanted a place to purchase, learn and be around all that was magic.,” shares its website.

Family owned for over 60 years with second and third generations at the helm of each new growth of what is a “40,000 square foot building, occupying an entire city block, and only 1 mile east of Downtown Houston” since March 1, 2000. Step foot inside Frankel’s and it’s as if you have stepped into a Halloween maze full of all kinds of unimaginable ideas for that one-of-a-kind costume. Elaborate and unique offerings sure to impress any costume enthusiast.  As shared by abc13.com, “Jason Frankel said many popular rentals were those from different time periods. He said Norse Barbarians, royalty, Roman characters and Elvis were some of the most elaborate ones.”

The costume portion of the company began when a long-time customer of Frankel’s had a special request for an outfit to be created for his show. “Morty’s wife Leola, a trained seamstress, stepped in to help. One thing led to another and she became inundated with requests for more and more costumes,” states its website.

In a recent report by abc13.com, they shared the Frankel family had made the announcement they would be retiring at the end of the year, and permanently closing up shop by December 27, 2017. So for the next few months, if you were a fan or just love costumes, this is a place to visit to enjoy the magic and the dream world that was Frankel’s Costume Company one last time.