'We’re devastated': One of Atlanta’s oldest businesses closes after 82 years

"We are devastated.” — Michael Bowers

Bowers Watch and Clock Repair, one of Atlanta’s oldest commercial businesses, has quietly closed after 82 years. 

“Our family (business) started in 1943 with our grandfather, Henry Bowers, who ran the company until 1976,"  said 61-year-old Michael Bowers, flanked by his 55-year-old sibling Tim, glumly packing their repair shop. "Then our father, Thomas Bowers, until his 2021 passing. And with the October death of our brother Thomas Bowers Jr., we simply cannot proceed.”

“With just two of us left, there would be no way we could both stay in business and offer the level of service we were known for,” added Michael. “We feel as though we have let Atlanta down.”

The Bowers have served Atlanta’s most recognizable names, repairing the clocks of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and his father, the Rev. Martin Luther King Sr., Gov. Jimmy Carter and Gov. Lester Maddox.

“I began inside at 8, graduated from high school at 18, then fully trained in the occupation, 52 years for me,” stated Michael.

“My story is similar,” interjected Tim with a laugh, “dragged inside at 6, began riding a MARTA bus to get here.”

Henry Nelson Bowers began in East Point (1943), sharing space with a shoe store near Knights Barber Shop, but the floating hair became an obstacle in the business of clock and watch repair.

A new destination was needed.

Mr. Bowers was on to Midtown, a space located inside the ancient Morningside commercial building at Piedmont and Monroe (Smiths Old Bar is now the anchor).

The Bowers business moved to Broadview Plaza (1979) at Piedmont and Lindbergh, when it was demolished, on to Cheshire Bridge (mid 1990s), and recently sandwiched between Happy Feet Massage and Discount Dry Cleaning.

“The small things; we were always known for, doing the job the first time,” said Michael. “We found it was best to do many of the smaller jobs at no charge, rather than trying to figure how to bill a customer for something that cost us 35 cents.”

Tom Bowers Sr. worked in to his 90s, passing away in 2021. He'd graduated from Grady High School in 1951 and served 20 years in Germany (Bavaria) with the U.S. Army.

A clock hobbyist in Bavaria is like a baseball fan in Cooperstown.

In 1974, when Mr. Bowers was discharged, he departed for home to take over his father’s Atlanta business. The military veteran had amassed 6,000 pounds of clocks to clear through customs. He thought he would eventually sell the timepieces; instead he kept them.

The clock and watch repair business was evergreen for generations — and then it wasn’t.

“Modern life has changed,” Michael told me. “The younger generation went to smart watches, resulting in few sales. And most manufacturers going to in-house only repairs resulting in too few watches we could actually repair.”

A 2025 epitaph for Bowers Clock and Watch Repair after 82 years of splendid Atlanta service?

“We always tried to do our best, for every job no matter how big or small, and now our time has run out.”