Who's Who: Michael Mak, Co-Owner of Butler's Uniforms

Name: Michael Mak

Occupation: Co-owner of Butler's Uniforms on San Pablo Avenue

Do you live in El Cerrito yourself? No, I live in Lafayette.

Why did you go into the uniform and tuxedo business? I've been working with uniforms since I was teenager, for about 20 years. My parents moved from China when I was very little, and they went into the clothing business. I started working at Selix Formalwear in Oakland, and then I was promoted to this store in El Cerrito. After that, my brother (George Mak) and I bought the uniform business here and added the tuxedo department. We've grown a lot since then.

How did you come to own this shop? Well, it's a family business. My brother and I bought it three years ago from Dick Bruhn, and he'd owned it since 1973. The business started in East Sacramento in 1942. Randy Butler opened Butler's Shoe Repair, and in 1943 he renamed it Butler's Uniforms and started supplying police officers with uniforms.

Do you provide uniforms for the El Cerrito police department then? Yes, and the fire department and many of the towns around here. They come in with their badge and we give them a uniform that they put the badge on. We also do uniforms for correctional officers.

How is the tuxedo business different? Oh, yes, it's very different. Parts of the year it gets very busy. Right now we are very busy because it's prom season. Last week I was here by myself, and we had a store full of people. I wasn't supposed to work today because it's Mother's Day, but I knew it might be very busy so I came in to help. July is wedding season, so it gets big then too.

Do you like that part of the job? Yes, we see kids come in all the time. For a lot of students, it's their first time wearing a tuxedo, so they're very excited. We help them select the color to match their date's dress.

What other occasions do people come in for? We have quite a few people come in for quinceañera parties and also for cotillion.

How is business different here from Oakland? The tuxedo business is better in Oakland just because there are more people around who need to rent them. It's just more volume. But we're still building here; our business is growing.

Any interesting stories about customers that you'd like to share? Oh, just this morning there was somebody who needed a tuxedo for the same night. He came in at 5 p.m., and we had it ready by 6 p.m. But of course, we prefer it if people call in first.