It’s been nearly three years now since Gene’s Costumes in Kensington closed after an electrical fire.
On Thursday, owner Ginger Ager pumped up the signature jack-o’-lantern on the roof and reopened the door for customers.
The Fire
The fire started on Jan. 2, 2024, in the shop’s basement while Ager and her mother were at work upstairs.
When the smoke detector sounded, Ager thought it needed a new battery. There were no initial indications of a problem but when she went on a walkaround she found smoke downstairs.
“We evacuated and the fire department came over and I’m sure everybody saw that. They blocked up the whole street for that one.”
Staying in Business
During the storefront downtime, Ager worked with theatrical and high school productions, supplying them with costumes from an inventory accumulated over 40 years in business.
Meanwhile she worked to restore all her costumes and designs. “I would go to the laundromat. I would take them home, scrub, scrub, scrub…We just keep cleaning them and if they come clean, they’re back in the store. If they don’t come clean, they have to go. So still a work in progress…I have a huge dry-cleaning bill waiting for me too.”
Storefront Open
So, while work goes on behind the scenes, the store is stocked and ready for the season. Ager looks forward to working with regular customers again. “It feels great. I’m very excited. I can’t wait for people to come in and…say hello and find out what their needs are for this year.”
Gene’s Costumes is at 10636 Connecticut Ave. in Kensington. Store hours Monday through Friday are 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Saturday 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. As Halloween approaches in the last two weeks of October, the store will expand hours to 9 p.m.
