"I did put a sign on my car that said 50 years in business when I drove in the city's 150-year parade," Cox said. "I kept meaning to do some kind of little celebration."
Bob's father - also named Bob - opened the shop in Pacific Plaza on East Osage, the year the Plaza opened.
Only the barbershop, of the original tenants, is still there.
Bob's Barber shop moved out of the Plaza in 1987 and opened a shop a few blocks west, but returned to Plaza last year.
"It feels right to be here," said Cox said, who has joined with other merchants to try to lure shoppers back to the mall.
He recalls that the Pacific Plaza was built shortly after Interstate 44 opened, relegating East Osage to the Pacific I-44 business bypass.
At the time, some people worried that the new highway would take all the traffic and no one would drive past the new plaza.
"Some reporter took a picture of a little kid riding a tricycle down the center of West Osage and said the traffic was all gone," Cox said.
As it turned out, the traffic was not all gone and the new plaza kicked into life with a venerable group of retail shops.
Bob Schneider built the west end of the Plaza first and Schneider's IGA grocery store and a P.N. Hirsch store opened at the same time.
Don Wengler, who opened the P.N. Hirsch store in 1964, remembers the Plaza in the early days as a "busy little mall."
Hirsch first opened next door the Schneider's IGA but, right away Schneider wanted to expand the grocery story, so Hirsch was moved into a 7,500-square-foot space at the east end of the mall.
"It was a great business," Wengler said recently. "I raised my family there. My kids worked there."
Other 1964 retailers in the plaza included a Western Auto, Ben Franklin, Heartland Bank, Ryan's Pharmacy, June's Beauty Shop and Bob's Barber Shop.
When Wal-Mart opened on West Osage, Wengler became manager of the new store.
P.N. Hirsch stores, which had been acquired by International Shoe, closed the Pacific store.
"There were times when you could not find a parking place in this plaza," Cox recalled recently. "Dad and I used to park across the street."
Today the parking lot is frequently empty.
"We don't have a draw like a grocery store to get people here," Cox said. "But we have a good group of businesses."
Now the merchants have organized to revive the small strip mall and bring shoppers back to the east end of town.
Saying people still need auto parts, haircuts and animal feed, the retailers are working with Cherie Francois, owner of the Plaza, to develop special events that will attract shoppers.
"They (the merchants) are pretty motivated," Cox said. "They're really working at it."