The iconic Wig-O-Rama store that dated back to downtown Tucson’s shopping heyday has been sold.
Opened in 1976 at 97 E. Congress St., owner Myung Kim moved across the street to 98 E. Congress St. in 1985, where wigged mannequins lined the shop’s window.
Kim was passionate about helping chemo patients and people with thinning hair due to illness, according to the Downtown Tucson Partnership.
The store stocked over 2,000 styles and colors.
The online domain, wigoramatucson.com, is for sale. Kim could not be reached for comment.
Business partners Marcel Dabdoub and Ron Schwabe bought the Wig-O-Rama building and the adjacent business spaces owned by Kim for $950,000.
All are vacant and total more than 9,000 square feet on a prominent downtown corner.
“At this point we’re talking to various prospective tenants,” Dabdoub said. “We’re going to do remodel work on all of the spaces but are waiting to see who the users are before we start.”
Over the past four years, Dabdoub has bought, along with different partners, more than six downtown buildings. His first was the historic Arizona Hotel at 35 N. Sixth Ave. in 2013.
“It’s a great feeling to buy up vacant buildings in order to bring them back to life,” he said. “I get really excited about downtown’s revitalization.”
Wig-O-Rama was displaced in 2013 when a fire broke out in the neighboring space once occupied by the Grill.
Kim moved to a 300-square-foot space in the Arizona Hotel while repairs were made.
“I don’t want to lose my customers,” Kim told the Downtown Tucson Partnership at the time. “This is small but better than far.”
