Old South Wharf's Miss Wear to close after 32 years
BY MARY LANCASTER
To Marina Cholaki it is not a question of if, but when she will bounce back to the energetic and successful woman she has been for more than three decades.

The Old South Wharf business will close for good after this weekend.

As has happened this year with several other islanders, Cholaki, who owns the popular Miss Wear store on Old South Wharf, learned in June that she had cancer, causing her to withdraw from the intense demands of retailing to care for her well being. Now in recovery, she is optimistic about regaining total health but is also realistic in recognizing that at this time she is unable to go on exhaustive buying trips and maintain the stamina required to run a busy shop.

"It is a long road back," said Cholaki, 59. "You have no clue what you are in for when this kind of thing befalls you."

Through chemotherapy and radiation treatments, doctors were able to shrink her cancerous tumor so it could be surgically removed in September. She and her husband Michel Becaas, whom she has been with for 27 years and who runs the companion men's shop of Marina Clothing, will remain Nantucket residents, especially staying all this winter while Cholaki continues her recuperation. But though his store will reopen next May, hers is closing after next weekend. A sandwich board reading "The party is over...liquidation sale, Miss Wear" sits at the head of the wharf. "I had to approach it with some

sense of humor," she said. "I would not have chosen to end my career, however due to the present circumstances and my health concerns it has become my reality. When I recover I expect to involve myself with Michel in his business."

Cholaki moved to the island from Fitchburgh, Mass., at the age of 19 and became manager and buyer for P.M. Wilson, a clothing store located where Nalu is now. After five years, she started Miss Wear, originally havng her goods styled and manufactured in Portugal but soon after decided to work only with domestic sources. Her clothes suit and flatter from slim and young to mature women. Her husband said the key to her success is a "less is more" attitude in merchandising so as to provide a quality, versatile wardrobe.

About 20 years ago, when Becaas, of French origin, had a restaurant called Michel's in Vermont but was tiring of the food industry, Cholaki realized that a men's store was needed on the island and he took on Marina Clothing.

"It is definitely the best thing I've

ever done in my life," Cholaki said of

her wonderful time in business on the wharf. "That largely has to do with the incredibly loyal clientele that I have who have literally become friends over the years. I literally can call the majority of my clients my friends."

Miss Wear will be open this coming Friday, Saturday and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and then will close. Marina Clothing is already closed for the season.

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