Steinbach (store)

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Steinbach was a department store chain based in Asbury Park, New Jersey.

Contents

[edit] History

[edit] Beginnings

Steinbach was founded in Asbury Park, New Jersey, and maintained branch stores along the New Jersey Shore, and in the central part of New Jersey. The firm was at one time affiliated with the Kresge-Newark department store in downtown Newark. In the 1960s the chain was purchased by Supermarkets General Corporation (SGC), and continued to operate as a stand alone company. SGC also purchased the Howland chain in Bridgeport Connecicut, and the 2 store Georke's department store based in Elizabeth, NJ. Howland also continued to run as a stand alone chain, while the Goerke's stores became part of the Steinbach chain, and in turn were rebranded Steinbach. In the 1970s the chain opened 3 large full line branches at Mall locations along the growing Jersey Shore, including the firms largest, a unit at the Shore Mall near Atlantic City. In 1976 a fourth mall location was opened at the Seaview Sqaure Mall, near its downtown Asbury Park store.

The Seaview Sqaure location was opened as the firms most upscale store, and a number of departments where not part of the merchandise mix, this changed when the ailing downtown Asbury Park location was closed in 1979, and Seaview Square was modified to include all departments that where carried downtown.

[edit] Ownership changes

In the late 1970s, SGC merged the two chains together under the corporate name, Howland-Steinbach. Each group of stores retained their original name, but were operated by a single corporate office. SGC sold the chain the 1980s to Dutch based Amcena Corporation, the owners of the NYC based Ohrbach's chain.

Amcena in turn converted most of its Ohrbach's stores to Steinbach stores. The parent company also converted all of the former Howland stores to the Steinbach nameplate, and closed the former Ohrbach's flagship location in NYC. By the late 1980s, Amcena opted to sell the chain, Value City purchased some of the stores, and Detroit based Crowley Milner and Company purchased some others.

[edit] Former Locations

[edit] Connecticut

[edit] New Hampshire

[edit] New Jersey

[edit] New York

[edit] Vermont

[edit] The Steinbach Today

On March 1, 2007 - The company that purchased the building, Sackman Enterprises, announced that the first of 63 apartments are ready for rent. This after a total rehabilitation of the historic building. The ground floor contains 22,000 sq feet of retail space. The four floors above are very unique loft style apartments. The major tenant who will opening in May of 2007 is Old Man Rafferty's - a bar and grill. Local merchants and politicians look at the Steinbach as the last link to reopening the downtown, as many new merchants flocked to the once boarded up section of the city. By: David Dorfman, asburyboardwalk.com See the links below for more information.

[edit] Links