The History of Rubensteins’ Retail Stores
Our century-old men’s retail store has been locally owned and family operated in New Orleans’s Central Business District since 1924
The Rubenstein retail legacy began during the 1920s on the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue. Morris Rubenstein, a young man in love, wished to marry the girl of his dreams, but alas, her father would not grant his blessing until young Morris found a job. At the time, employment in the New Orleans Central Business District was scarce, but ignited by passion, Morris used knowledge from his family’s dry goods business on Rampart Street to open his own retail store. By 1924, Morris opened Rubensteins, a haberdashery store selling shirts, ties, separate collars, and other clothing items to fashionable young men, and yes, went on to win his future father-in-law’s approval, marrying the love of his life.
After sales and cash on delivery payables, Morris ended with 47 cents net profit on his opening day and motivation to persevere in the New Orleans retail industry. Despite the small profit initially, Rubensteins grew rapidly, and financial support and additional personnel for the retail store became necessary. Morris Rubenstein’s brothers, Elkin and Sam, soon joined the New Orleans retail company. As the Central Business District business continued to grow between 1925 and 1929, the family expanded Rubensteins into the additional retail space on Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue.
In the 1930s, during the Great Depression, as surrounding businesses were failing, Rubenstein approached his landlord, asking to reduce his rent or they would go out of business. Knowing his New Orleans retail tenants would be successful in the future, the landlord said he would reduce the rent of the property on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street instead of having empty real estate in the Central Business District.
This agreement enabled Rubensteins to keep the retail store open through the Great Depression. As the country emerged from the recession and the store prospered, Rubensteins purchased the St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street property, including the corner building, from the property owner, Abe Minus. After Rubensteins completed its expansion and renovation of the new Canal Street space, a grand opening announcement appeared in New Orleans’s Times-Picayune on December 7, 1941.
Unfortunately, the timeline of World War II coincided with Rubensteins' grand opening and added a few hurdles to the business. However, Rubensteins added a ladies’ clothing department and closed it on Saturdays to persist throughout the war. When World War II ended, Rubensteins invited young New Orleans men who served to visit the store for all their business clothing needs. As these young men grew into successful businessmen, they became Rubensteins’ main clientele against established men’s retail stores in New Orleans, such as Godchaux, Porters, Stevens and Company, and Marks Isaacs.
In the late 1950s and early 1960s, Rubensteins added the Madison Shop on Canal Street, a trendy men’s retail store for the new New Orleans generations. At the same time, Andre and David, Elkin’s sons, graduated college and joined Rubensteins to run the Madison Shop with its own entrance on Canal Street. By the 1970s, jeans were in, and the second generation of the Rubenstein legacy opened the All-American Jeans retail division in New Orleans. The Rubensteins retail location in New Orleans’ Plaza Shopping Center followed soon after.
By the 1980s, Rubensteins had expanded to a third retail branch in Metairie’s Lakeside Shopping Center. In the following decade, Kenny, Mark, Robbie, and Niki Rubenstein, Andre and David’s sons and wives, joined the family business.
As sales slowed in the Plaza and Lakeside retail centers, Rubensteins shifted focus to its downtown New Orleans real estate on St. Charles Avenue and Canal Street. A third generation of Rubensteins, David’s children Hilary and Allison joined the company in 2000.
On October 18, 2005, less than two months after Hurricane Katrina hit New Orleans, the store re-opened. Rubensteins did not expect significant business but wanted to convey that they were re-opening for business and would survive Katrina.
Today, Rubensteins consists of seven neighboring buildings at the corner of Canal Street and St. Charles Avenue in the Central Business District, with the Rubenstein Hotel on St. Charles Avenue resting atop. The Rubensteins are fortunate to have operated the family business for over a century across three generations. They are committed to making New Orleans a better place for future generations to live and work. Rubensteins was proudly named the first Independent Retailer of the Year by the Daily News Record, a New York-based men’s apparel industry publication and “Gold Standard” on Esquire magazine’s Best of Class List.