Weathers TV & Appliance, new owner hit with complaints, latest closing in downtown Edmond

Steve Lackmeyer 7/30/2025

The Oklahoman

• Weathers TV & Appliance, a longtime Edmond business, has closed amid customer complaints and threatened legal action against the new owner.

• Several other legacy businesses in downtown Edmond have also closed in recent years, signaling a shift in the area's character.

• Rising property values and an influx of investors are changing the landscape, making it harder for traditional local retailers to survive.

Weathers TV & Appliance, a downtown Edmond retail anchor since 1959, is the latest legacy business to close its doors as the historic stretch of Broadway is transforming into an entertainment district. 

Not long ago, visitors could count on seeing Scott Weathers — who took over from his father Jack — at the shop. But after selling the building in 2023 and then the business, it didn’t take long for the business to rack up complaints online that the new owner, Jake Hledik, was not delivering appliances and electronics to paying customers. 

At some point in the last few months, neighboring business owners noticed the store was no longer open. On Thursday, July 24, the building’s landlord, Four Score Properties, posted a notice of default on the door alleging Hledik owed $34,749.99 in back rent and giving him 10 days to pay the debt or face legal action. 

The letter also claims Hledik had avoided “all attempts” to contact him. The Oklahoman called several phone numbers associated with Hledik and the business; all were disconnected. 

What remains of the business now are empty displays and a few appliances including a retro-style refrigerator and gas oven. What led to the business’ demise remains unknown. The Edmond Police Department reported it has an open investigation into complaints from the store's customers. Phil Bacharach, spokesman for Attorney General Gentner Drummond, confirmed the office is aware of former customers’ complaints against Weathers TV & Appliance after it was taken over by Hledik. 

“I can say our office is aware of this issue,” Bacharach said. “Anyone who has paid for items or services can contact the Consumer Protection Unit or submit a claim through the process on our website.” 

Old downtown Edmond fading away 

Weathers TV & Appliance isn’t the only legacy downtown Edmond anchor to disappear in recent years.  

Just a block away, at 21 S. Broadway, Morris “Hoot” Gibson was a constant presence at McCall’s Men’s Clothing, a store he opened in 1953 when Edmond was home to just 6,000 residents. He continued to show up for work into his 90s, but when he died, the store closed and the space was leased to a bookstore. 

The Edmond Sun newspaper, meanwhile, was shut down in 2000 after keeping the city’s residents informed about local events since 1889. More recently, the Edmond Antique Mall, first opened in 1991 at 114 S. Broadway, closed after the building was sold, gutted and renovated with multiple storefronts. 

More: 2018: Downtown Edmond Gets Cool: Development spreads from the heart of suburb's center

David Chapman a real estate professor at the University of Central Oklahoma and a former Edmond city councilman, is among those mourning the loss of long familiar local downtown businesses, recalling he was a regular at Java Dave’s before it closed in 2019. The spot at 9 S. Broadway is now home to Round Midnight, a jazz and cocktail lounge. 

“I was upset when Java Dave's went,” Chapman said. “That was my go-to place every morning. We’re entering a new time for our downtown. It's changing. It's emotional for a lot of people. I don’t like it, but it’s the inevitability of what happens when things turn over.” 

Edmond growth, investor purchases drive downtown changes

Bob and Tammy Weiss are among those still providing visitors the chance to experience what downtown Edmond was like before the city’s population closed in on topping 100,000 residents (expected to happen this year). 

They bought the Spearman Building, once home to the town’s hospital and the Broncho Theater, in 1991 from the Resolution Trust Corp., which was tasked with disposing of assets of oil bust era failed savings & loan associations. 

They opened their own restaurant, a fine dining concept named London House in 1995 just weeks before the Oklahoma City bombing and coinciding with the start of a rapid transformation of the once small town. 

“The population in Edmond in 1995 passed 50,000 people and it then got on the radar screen of every franchise company in America,” Bob Weiss said. “Within about a year and a half, there were about 75 restaurants that opened in Edmond: Outback, Chilli’s, Denny’s, 13 Mexican restaurants...” 

On top of it, more fine dining restaurants, including the popular Boulevard Steakhouse, opened to compete with London House. And that is when Weiss switched his concept to Othello’s in 1999. 

That concept stuck and the Weiss couple can often be seen at the restaurant visiting with regular patrons and helping run the restaurant as needed. 

The Weiss family also made sure a favorite downtown Edmond breakfast spot, Around the Corner, did not close when its owner, Charlotte Worsham, died.

The restaurant dates back to 1951 when it was named The Corner, reflecting its location at First and Broadway. It was renamed Around the Corner when a change in ownership resulted in it moving to its current location at 11 S. Broadway.  

Worsham owned both the building and restaurant, and for 25 years she operated it as the small-town gathering spot, decorated with university memorabilia, old photos and rooster collectibles. 

During an encounter by the alley-side dumpsters, Worsham approached Weiss, discussed her failing health and her desire to sell the property and business. The deal was done once Worsham passed and Weiss has kept the restaurant running as it was when Worsham stood every morning at the front register. 

Both Weiss and Chapman agree the key to such businesses continuing is the ability to also own the building. Weiss believes without ownership of both a building and business, the odds go up against the survival of traditional local retailers. 

When the big restaurant chains discovered Edmond, similar competition for downtown Edmond retailers popped up with a new Super Target, Lowe’s and Home Depot. Direct competition to Weathers TV & Appliance emerged with the openings of Best Buy and Circuit City just outside of Edmond at Memorial Road and Pennsylvania Avenue. 

The loss of McCall’s Men’s Clothing, Weathers TV & Appliance and the Edmond Antique Mall get noticed, Chapman said.  

“Edmond lives and dies like every other suburb, on sales tax,” Chapman said. “We watch our retailers very closely and we get bent out of shape when we lose one. Is Edmond losing these legacy places any quicker than anywhere else? The checking I’ve done says, basically, no. It’s happening in other places, though it’s more obvious in Edmond because it’s taken longer to happen.” 

Chapman sees a downtown Edmond in flux as apartments and new small pocket neighborhoods emerge east and west of Broadway. He believes the possibility of a regional transit system strengthening the ties between the University of Central Oklahoma, downtown Edmond and the rest of the metro can create a stronger Broadway corridor. 

For now, however, the future of the buildings where Weathers TV & Appliance and the antique mall served customers for decades is a bit fuzzy. 

Renovations are complete where the antique mall once operated, but so far, the storefronts have yet to open with new tenants. Weiss questions whether the sort of shops that once lined Broadway can survive in buildings bought and renovated by investors and then leased for higher rents. 

He credits Citizen’s Bank of Edmond, which owns a collection of buildings along the east side of Broadway, with keeping small retailers’ dreams alive by using the buildings to incubate start-ups.  

He is worried, however, about the influx of investors into the area. 

“What is happening now is because the value of downtown is increasing so much, we have this investor model where people are buying the property and leasing it out,” Weiss said. “And the people who are renting these stores, they don’t have the same long-term vision that you do if you have a 20-year mortgage on the property.”