Goldblatt's was an American chain of local discount stores that operated in Chicago, Illinois, as well as Indiana, Michigan and Wisconsin. Founded in 1914, the chain grew to more than twenty stores at its peak, gradually closing some stores in the 1990s and selling others to Ames before finally closing completely in 2000.
Goldblatt's was founded in 1914 by brothers Nate and Maurice Goldblatt. Immigrants from Poland, the Goldblatt family ran a grocery store and butcher shop on Chicago's West Side. Nate and Maurice opened their first store near the corner of Ashland and Chicago Avenue. By 1922, the store recorded sales of over $800,000.[2] By 1928 the brothers formed Goldblatt Brothers Inc. During the Great Depression of the 1930s Goldblatt's did well, and the brothers were able to purchase several smaller department stores.
In 1936, Goldblatt's opened its State Street flagship store at State and Van Buren. Goldblatt's moved towards more upscale products and offered small appliances, a deli, and confectionery goods.
Goldblatt Department Stores 1/2 cent coin / token
Bankruptcy
By 1946 Goldblatt's was operating 15 stores with $62 million in annual sales. Things went well even as the Goldblatt brothers began to quarrel. In 1941, a one-store expansion into Buffalo, New York, was met with little success; the store closed on November 27, 1948, following a unionization attempt by the employees.[3] By the 1950s growth began to stall, with profits flat-lining and new store openings averaging four a year.
By the mid-1960s, retailers such as Kmart, Woolco, Zayre, and Sears were digging into Goldblatt's market. Expansion into the suburbs proved to be a difficult obstacle for Goldblatt's. Middle class shoppers were not enticed to shop at Goldblatt's. The company declared bankruptcy in 1981.
In 1982, Goldblatt's reopened with six stores. The mission of the company was restored to selling to low income families. The flagship store, which was to be sold to City of Chicago under Mayor Jane Byrne for a public library location,[4] later sold to DePaul University when the Harold Washington Library was built. Without the money from the City of Chicago Goldblatt's would have closed. Jerrold Wexler helped save the firm from bankruptcy.[2] By 1985 Goldblatt's was profitable.
However, changing markets, increasing competition, and old stores doomed the chain. In 2000, Goldblatt's closed once again. Ames purchased several former stores to enter the Chicago market again (Ames had taken over many of Zayre's former Chicago stores, all of them later closed). But later in that same year, it returned and reopened its 47th and Ashland location.[5] Goldblatt's later reclaimed four more locations when Ames closed its Chicago stores.[6] In 2003, the company closed its stores for good and liquidated.
Ames
Shortly after Goldblatt's closed its stores, discount retailer Ames purchased seven of the stores for $7.6 million in April 2000.[7]
^ ab"JG Industries Inc. Company History". Funding Universe. Retrieved 2006-05-30.
^Rizzo, Michael F. (2007). Nine Nine Eight: The Glory Days of Buffalo Shopping. Lulu Enterprises, Inc.; Morrisville, North Carolina. p. 115. ISBN978-1-4303-1386-1.
^Becker, Lynn (June 11, 2004). "Sleekness in Seattle". Chicago Reader. Retrieved February 9, 2022 – via Repeat.
^Guy, Sandra (September 21, 2000). "Goldblatt's makes comeback". Chicago Sun-Times.
^Guy, Sandra (January 19, 2002). "Goldblatt's looking at former sites". Chicago Sun-Times.
^"Ames Department Store Inc". SEC Info. 2000-04-29.
goldblatt, this, article, needs, additional, citations, verification, please, help, improve, this, article, adding, citations, reliable, sources, unsourced, material, challenged, removed, find, sources, news, newspapers, books, scholar, jstor, october, 2008, l. This article needs additional citations for verification Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources Unsourced material may be challenged and removed Find sources Goldblatt s news newspapers books scholar JSTOR October 2008 Learn how and when to remove this template message Goldblatt s was an American chain of local discount stores that operated in Chicago Illinois as well as Indiana Michigan and Wisconsin Founded in 1914 the chain grew to more than twenty stores at its peak gradually closing some stores in the 1990s and selling others to Ames before finally closing completely in 2000 Goldblatt sIndustryRetailFounded1914FounderMaurice Goldblatt Nathan GoldblattDefunct2003 final liquidation all stores closed by 2000 FateLiquidatedHeadquartersChicago Illinois U S ProductsClothing footwear bedding furniture jewelry beauty products electronics and housewares Contents 1 History 1 1 Early beginnings 1 2 Bankruptcy 1 3 Ames 2 References 3 External linksHistory EditEarly beginnings Edit Goldblatt Bros Department StoreU S National Register of Historic Places Location in ChicagoShow map of Chicago metropolitan area Location in IllinoisShow map of Illinois Location in United StatesShow map of the United StatesLocation4700 S Ashland Ave Chicago IllinoisCoordinates41 48 30 N 87 39 55 W 41 80833 N 87 66528 W 41 80833 87 66528 Coordinates 41 48 30 N 87 39 55 W 41 80833 N 87 66528 W 41 80833 87 66528Arealess than one acreBuilt1915ArchitectAlfred S AlschulerArchitectural styleChicagoNRHP reference No 06001016 1 Added to NRHPNovember 15 2006Goldblatt s was founded in 1914 by brothers Nate and Maurice Goldblatt Immigrants from Poland the Goldblatt family ran a grocery store and butcher shop on Chicago s West Side Nate and Maurice opened their first store near the corner of Ashland and Chicago Avenue By 1922 the store recorded sales of over 800 000 2 By 1928 the brothers formed Goldblatt Brothers Inc During the Great Depression of the 1930s Goldblatt s did well and the brothers were able to purchase several smaller department stores In 1936 Goldblatt s opened its State Street flagship store at State and Van Buren Goldblatt s moved towards more upscale products and offered small appliances a deli and confectionery goods Goldblatt Department Stores 1 2 cent coin token Bankruptcy Edit By 1946 Goldblatt s was operating 15 stores with 62 million in annual sales Things went well even as the Goldblatt brothers began to quarrel In 1941 a one store expansion into Buffalo New York was met with little success the store closed on November 27 1948 following a unionization attempt by the employees 3 By the 1950s growth began to stall with profits flat lining and new store openings averaging four a year By the mid 1960s retailers such as Kmart Woolco Zayre and Sears were digging into Goldblatt s market Expansion into the suburbs proved to be a difficult obstacle for Goldblatt s Middle class shoppers were not enticed to shop at Goldblatt s The company declared bankruptcy in 1981 In 1982 Goldblatt s reopened with six stores The mission of the company was restored to selling to low income families The flagship store which was to be sold to City of Chicago under Mayor Jane Byrne for a public library location 4 later sold to DePaul University when the Harold Washington Library was built Without the money from the City of Chicago Goldblatt s would have closed Jerrold Wexler helped save the firm from bankruptcy 2 By 1985 Goldblatt s was profitable However changing markets increasing competition and old stores doomed the chain In 2000 Goldblatt s closed once again Ames purchased several former stores to enter the Chicago market again Ames had taken over many of Zayre s former Chicago stores all of them later closed But later in that same year it returned and reopened its 47th and Ashland location 5 Goldblatt s later reclaimed four more locations when Ames closed its Chicago stores 6 In 2003 the company closed its stores for good and liquidated Ames Edit Shortly after Goldblatt s closed its stores discount retailer Ames purchased seven of the stores for 7 6 million in April 2000 7 References Edit National Register Information System National Register of Historic Places National Park Service July 9 2010 a b JG Industries Inc Company History Funding Universe Retrieved 2006 05 30 Rizzo Michael F 2007 Nine Nine Eight The Glory Days of Buffalo Shopping Lulu Enterprises Inc Morrisville North Carolina p 115 ISBN 978 1 4303 1386 1 Becker Lynn June 11 2004 Sleekness in Seattle Chicago Reader Retrieved February 9 2022 via Repeat Guy Sandra September 21 2000 Goldblatt s makes comeback Chicago Sun Times Guy Sandra January 19 2002 Goldblatt s looking at former sites Chicago Sun Times Ames Department Store Inc SEC Info 2000 04 29 External links EditEncyclopedia of Chicago Former Store Implosion at the Wayback Machine archived February 15 2013 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title Goldblatt 27s amp oldid 1071770461, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
