Sakowitz Brothers (Sakowitz)
1111 Main Street
Houston, Texas
The on-line museum of North America's independent department stores. The museum holds all sorts of information about classic department stores which either no longer exist, or are changed beyond recognition. A few of them are still with us, and provide an interesting connection to North America's retail past. The others are presented so that they may be properly remembered as a tangible part of the lives of their customers, shopping destinations where memories were often made.
Sakowitz was Houston's Neiman Marcus. They had expanded to 18 stores in Texas, Arizona and Oklahoma. There is a good book called Blood Rich by Jane Wolfe that gives a good account of their history.
ReplyDeleteThe downtown store was across from Foley's and was very elegant. The Sakowitz brothers were very forward thinking in building the Post Oak store out "in the country" a the corner of Post Oak and Westheimer. It would be across the street from the world-famous Galleria. They were taken back when Neiman Marcus, their arch rival, moved into The Galleria. They also had locations in Champions, Nasa Road 1, Town & Country, Gulfgate, Shamrock Men's Shop (in the Shamrock Hotel) and the Four Seasons Shop (In the Four Season's Hotel). Stores were expanded to Dallas, Amarillo, Scottsdale, AZ, Tulsa and Midland-Odessa, among others. They were known for their outlandish Christmas catalog that was very similar to Neiman's.
Richard in Houston
I used too shop there a lot. Flew in from Louisiana. Mr. Hymie Meters was my man I used to out fit me. I could come in 1 hour before the store opened to the public. I still have my Sackowutz credit card. It was a wonderful life
DeleteI am curious to see if there is demand and/or value to Branded Sakowitz items from their Famous Summer Catalogue? Please advise. Thank you, Geni Hefner (iamageni@usa.com)
ReplyDeleteI have a February 1926 edition of the Port-Foley-O from Houston, TX. I have admired the illustrations for years, and am no ready to sell it. I would be so lovely in a museum. Please advise of any contacts you may know who would be interested. I have never sold anything like this before. Thanks so much.
ReplyDeleteI worked at the main store at 1111 Main. I was in the stationery dept. then went on to head up the customer service dept. for the Sakowitz catalog. The latter was a nice desk job but I missed the excitement of being where the action was on the first floor. Robert Sakowitz was a local celebrity. Once when I was new to the floor Lynn Wyatt came up to order stationery and asked if I knew who she was, I didn't....
ReplyDeleteAs anonymous says, Blood Rich is a good book about the history of Sakowitz, but also of Houston and its high society as it grew in stature to become the 4th largest city in the country. I remember going to Sakowitz as a little kid in the early 80s, both the downtown store and the Post Oak store, my mother would usually buy us our "Sunday best" clothes there. Eating at the lunchrooms was always a treat, my mom would let us get chocolate milk, and they cut the kids sandwiches in animal shapes, with raisins for eyes. They also served a great bread basket with cheese straws and these fantastic orange sweet rolls. I'd be eternally grateful to anyone who could provide that sweet roll recipe.
ReplyDeleteAnyone remember when there was a Sakowitz location on the southeast corner of FM 1960 and Champion Forest Drive? After they went out of business, it was a Sun and Ski Sports for years later, and I think only recently did they move to another location.
ReplyDeleteThen you knew my Husband Bernard Orloff who did the catalogs
ReplyDeleteStill call the shopping center that housed Sakowitz here in Dallas, "Sakowitz Village" even though the store's been gone over 20+ yrs!
ReplyDeleteI have a Stetson hat that has the following on the inside of it - Sakowitz, 1972, Bluebonnet Bowl. I am trying to find out the history of it. Did Sakowitz make them every year? Were they available for sale to the general public or were they given away to VIPs? Any information would be appreciated.
ReplyDeleteFifty four years ago Sakowitz preserved my Wedding Dress.
ReplyDeleteI promised my niece the dress would be hers when she married. We opened it and it is full of yellow stains. What should we do? Shame on SAKOWITZ.
What a moronic comment. This isn't Yelp!
DeleteIf you must ask,
DeleteTake it back to Sakowitz
Dye it.
ReplyDeleteI found a Sakowitz Buoy cloth jacket that says it was amde exclusively for A.J. Foyt. Anyone know how i can find out more info on it. Foyt was a famous racer. I am trying to age it and get as much of the story as i can>>>>???
ReplyDeleteIf I had to guess the A.J.Foyt jacket was from the late 50s or early 60s. My grandmother worked at Sakowitz downtown for over 20 years in the Womin Ready To Wear department. A.J.s mother was one of her regular customers as well as Ima Hogg and Ella Fondren, wife of Walter Fondren, one of the founders of Humble Oil. She retired from Sakowitz in 1965.
ReplyDeleteI recently found a piece of stained glass in an attic in Galveston. It has "In Memory of A M Sakowitz 1876-1926" imprinted on it. Does anyone know if this possibly has any connection to the Sakowitz department store family? If so, it is still in that specific attic and they may want to retrieve it. if it was my family, I would like to have it in my possession.
ReplyDeleteAnne Sakowitz, Bernard's wife
ReplyDelete