'We're Just Going To Wrap It Up': Campus Jewelers Shutters After Theft

WILTON, CT — The couple who owns and operates Campus Jewelers has announced they will be closing the Wilton retail institution at the end of August.

The move comes after dual tragedies rocked the lives of Behrouz and Sonya Taheri over the past five months.

First, the store at 5 River Road was robbed of inventory with a wholesale value of over $600,000, prompting the couple to schedule a closing for the end of July. Then they were forced to reschedule the shuttering to the end of August following the sudden death of Behrouz's brother in Iran last month.

The burglary occurred March 6. Thieves cut through the exterior wall of the neighboring vacant space. From there, they sliced through an interior wall and into the back of the Campus Jewelers safe. The maneuver foiled four different security systems the Taheri's had installed in the store, Behrouz told Patch.

"They didn't catch a whiff of it," he said.

In fact, the shopkeepers would not even know they had been robbed, had not a call from their landlord advised them about the breakthrough in the wall of the adjacent vacancy. It was only when they opened their safe that they saw the damage done.

Notable among the stolen jewelry were the high-sentiment items Sonya had put aside as gifts for her daughter on her wedding day, scheduled for 2025.

It was his wife's love of jewelry that got him into the business in the first place, Behrouz said.

"She loves jewelry so much that in February 2003, I bought this store for her as a Valentine's Day present."

Before that, the couple had operated a store for 5 years in Westport, where they got their start in the jewelry trade.

The couple's original, original plan was to close the store at the end of September 2025, when their lease was up, Behrouz said. He is still negotiating with landlord Kimco Realty in the hopes of ending it earlier.

"We are in dispute," the jeweler said. "We may end up having to just sit at home and pay them."

Behrouz said he and Sonya briefly entertained the idea of marshalling their resources and sticking it out, but were daunted by the number of "smash and grabs" being reported in Westport, Darien, Trumbull and other towns in the nearby area.

"One guy they caught, he confessed to eight of them!" Behrouz said. "That really scared me. That's when we decided, we're just going to wrap it up."

Although he bemoans what he calls his "forced retirement," Behrouz said the couple is looking forward to "having fun traveling."

Worth noting: every item at Campus Jewelers is being sold at 50-70 percent off pre-burglary prices until the end of August.