The "Kohl Bros." chain name mystery (Milwaukee, WI)

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Andrew T.
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The "Kohl Bros." chain name mystery (Milwaukee, WI)

Post by Andrew T. »

Back when the Milwaukee thread was running its course, I made an observation about the history of the Kohl's company name:
The Kohl's chain was listed in pre-1950s directories as Kohl Bros. Did Max Kohl have a brother that he co-founded the grocery business with? If so, he was written out of the 1970 company history. By the time the chain started taking out citywide newspaper advertising in 1946, they were doing business as "Kohl's;" no mention of brothers in the copy.
In the Milwaukee table, Kohl's is listed consistently as "Kohl Bros." from 1930 to 1950, and sporadically beyond.

In 1970, the Milwaukee Journal offered an "official" explanation of why the company was called this:
The Journal, 1970-09-09 wrote: The father had always hoped his sons would join the family business--in fact when they were still children he called his business Kohl Brothers in their honor.
But the timing calls this explanation into question. Sidney Kohl, Max's oldest son, was born in 1929; Herb wasn't born until 1935 and Allen until 1936 or 1937. So, it seems that one of these two things is true:

* Max Kohl's original grocery store wasn't actually called Kohl Bros. in 1930.
or
* The official explanation is a fabrication, and "Kohl Bros." wasn't named after Max's sons.

David, could you please double-check your notes to confirm whether Kohl's was listed in the 1930 and 1935 Milwaukee directories as "Kohl Bros.," "Kohl Maxwell," or something else entirely? I'm dying to get to the bottom of this.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
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Re: The "Kohl Bros." chain name mystery (Milwaukee, WI)

Post by Groceteria »

Andrew T. wrote: 03 Aug 2019 16:56David, could you please double-check your notes to confirm whether Kohl's was listed in the 1930 and 1935 Milwaukee directories as "Kohl Bros.," "Kohl Maxwell," or something else entirely? I'm dying to get to the bottom of this.
1930.jpg
630 East Lincoln Avenue (96 in 1930 before renumbering) was listed as Kohl Bros in 1930 and 1935.
3826 West Vliet Street was listed as Kohl's Food Market in 1935 (no listing in 1930).
1935.jpg
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Re: The "Kohl Bros." chain name mystery (Milwaukee, WI)

Post by Andrew T. »

Wow! Thank you, thank you.

This also makes the mystery even more mysterious. To be sure, this proves that "Kohl Bros." couldn't have originally been a reference to the founder's sons, since the founder had only one son (in diapers, no less) in 1930. But why was it named Kohl Bros?

* Possibility #1: Max Kohl had an unknown brother that he co-founded the grocery business with, who was written out of the 1970 company history.

* Possibility #2: Max Kohl pulled the "Bros." line out of a hat, and it was never an accurate descriptor of the business. Maybe he was trying to fill in space on the sign. Or maybe he thought that the "Bros." name gave his store an aura that stood out from the hundreds of other Milwaukee neighbourhood grocers of the 1920s.

* Possibility #3: Max Kohl was clairvoyant, and named the business in anticipation of having sons that he'd hand the business down to.

Somehow, I think #2 is most likely.
"The pale pastels which have been featured in most food stores during the past 20 years are no longer in tune with the mood of the 1970s."
Andrew Turnbull
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