Downtown Tampa. (Maas Brothers' plan to close its department store)

Downtown Tampa clothing retailers are disappointed to hear Maas Bros. plans to close its 72-year-old downtown store by the end of March.

"I don't like to see any businesses close in downtown Tampa. If we have more stores and restaurants, more people are going to come down," says Robin West, manager of the Colony shop on Franklin Street. But, she adds, "I don't really think it's going to hurt our business."

"It affects me emotionally," not businesswise, says Fred Wolf, manager of Wolf Bros. "I'm part of the family." Wolf's grandfather's sister married Abraham Maas, one of the store's founders, he says.

Wolf, however, doesn't think the store's …