ASHEVILLE - In windows where wigs have stood sentry over a changing downtown for nearly 45 years will soon sit beer-sipping patrons.

The iconic, eclectic Kim's Wig Center will close for good on Dec. 16, the dozens of mannequin heads forever denied their view of one of Asheville's busiest streets.

The 450-square-foot space, situated on the corner of Battery Park Avenue and Haywood Street on the ground floor of the historic Miles Building, won't stay vacant for long.

Next year, a taproom called The Asheville Club will open there, serving boutique beers.

Mary Ann West, who purchased the Miles Building for $2 million in 2005 with her husband Steve West, said members of her family will be behind the new taproom.

Sandy Kanupp, who took over the wig business in 2003, is 66 and ready to retire. She's one of three surviving owners of the wig and accessories store, all of whom remain friends.

"(The business) was passed down from friend to friend," she said. "You can call it a family business."

Kanupp moved to Buncombe County from South Korea in 1972 with her American-born husband, a former military man who's been retired for 13 years.

She said the couple plan to spend more time spoiling their five grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.

Kanupp was also willing to address any rumors surrounding her wig shop head-on: the store is not, and never has been, a front for any kind of illicit activity.

"Somebody did ask me that directly, and I didn't know what to say," laughed the store owner.

She said she's never given the rumors much thought. She thinks people who wonder how she's stayed in business for so long otherwise should come in and see the brisk business she does.

Half of her clientele is tourist-based, she said, and the other half consists of Alopecia Areata and cancer patients, looking to conceal hair loss.

"I heard people say they never see anybody — someone said that to me — and I asked how can you stay in business if you don't sell any wigs?" Kanupp asked, incredulous. "You have to pay the bills and make a living."

Business has been strong since the store opened in '73, as far as she knew. Certainly since 2003, Kanupp said, noting she has a robust group of return customers and has done well with sales of accessories like sunglasses and costume jewelry.

"Some weeks are good, some months are good, and some months I'm wondering what's going on," she said. "Like any other business, it's like a roller coaster."

She said she'd miss her loyal customers, and emphasized this is not a sad story.

"It was time for me to move on to other things," she said. "When you're working six days a week, that doesn't leave much time for anything else."

Mary Ann West said Kanupp has been an ideal tenant, one who's kept the windows clean and never missed a rent payment.

Nevertheless, she said, the West family has been hoping to take over that space for some time.

"She gave notice a few years ago that she was leaving," West said. "We are saving that space for the family and have been waiting for it."

West said the Chamber of Commerce performed a survey of foot traffic past that corner, and deemed it to be one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the city.

With beer seemingly the center of attention in Asheville, it's rather unsurprising that the most visible corner, the practical heart of the city, would turn into a taproom.

Though this new venture reflects the changing tides of the city's focus, it will revive a piece of local history.

The Asheville Club's name nods to the Miles Building's original role as the home to a men's club, formed in 1901. "We're taking that historic name and putting it back on the building," West said.

This version of The Asheville Club will allow women to belly up to the bar, she added.

West also put to rest pervasive rumors that a Starbucks is coming to the Miles Building, with no other changes to the building for the foreseeable future.

"People have walked up to me and said I hear you've sold (a unit) to Starbucks. I've said, 'I hope I got a good price for it.'"

West said she and her family were not the top bidders when the Miles Building went up for sale.

"I think one of the reasons we got it is because we're local, we're not really going to change it all that much, we'll improve it and keep it in the family," she said.

Kim's Wig Center is 20 Haywood St. All items at the store will be on sale until it closes Dec. 16.