Downtown Tucson boutique Hydra is closing its doors after 23 years

After 23 years in business, Hydra is closing the doors of its downtown Tucson boutique.

Margo Susco, who co-owns Hydra with her brother, Joe, announced on Facebook that the boutique’s eye-grabbing window displays will go dark on Dec. 31 and invited Tucsonans to stop by and take advantage of a liquidation sale.

“It is with a heavy heart and excitement about the next chapter that we announce the closing of Hydra,” Margo Susco wrote on Facebook, thanking her family, her manager, the city of Tucson, Downtown Tucson Partnership, Tucson police, her landlord and the community for a good run. “I am overcome with love and gratitude when I reflect on the last 23 years downtown. ... I am a lucky girl, it is simply time to move on to the next life experience.”

The decision to close the iconic store at the corner of Sixth Avenue and Congress Street has not changed Susco’s attitude about downtown Tucson as she urged the community to support the area and small businesses, and to shop local.

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Hydra, a retro clothing boutique, opened at 145 E. Congress St. on Nov. 4, 1994, as Hydra Leather and More, selling alternative styles of leather and vinyl clothing.

The store would later change its focus, selling an eclectic mix of Western wear and vintage and retro styles from the 1940s, ’50s, and ’80s.

While the wares inside of the boutique lured many shoppers in, about five years ago, Joe Susco took it upon himself to ramp up the curb appeal, designing window displays that stopped passersby in their tracks.

Memorable displays he created included annual holiday-themed arrangements and a scene from the horror classic “Carrie,” complete with a bucket of blood dousing a mannequin.