Gus Mayer
Gus Mayer is a department store with two locations, one at The Summit and another at The Mall at Green Hills in Nashville, Tennessee. The store specializes in high-end designer clothing and accessories.
The chain was founded in 1900 on Canal Street in New Orleans, Louisiana. It was sold to the Weiss Brothers in 1934. The chain peaked at 20 stores across the South. The Pizitz Management Group purchased the Birmingham location in 1975 and kept the rights to the name. They added the Nashville location later.
The first Birmingham location opened in 1922 in the Retail Block behind the Molton Hotel on 5th Avenue North. Later the store was located at 2240 Highland Avenue in the Bottega Favorita location, now home to Bottega Restaurant & Cafe. Two years after the Brookwood Village mall opened in 1973 the store moved there.
In 2002 the Brookwood Village store was relocated and expanded along with the renovations to the mall. Hambrecht Oleson Design Associates of New York designed the new 21,000 square foot store with local architects Crawford, McWilliams and Hatcher.
The shoe salons at Gus Mayer, which include a full-line Stuart Weitzman boutique and a Cole Haan concept salon, are owned independently by David Kraselsky, who leases the store space.
In 2010 Gus Mayer made plans to move to The Summit as part of an updating of the store's merchandising strategy. The new 16,500 square-foot store was also designed by Hambrecht Oleson, and opened on February 25, 2011. Bayer Properties petitioned the City of Birmingham for $500,000 in tax abatement incentives for the deal. With the move to a smaller space, Gus Mayer decided to eliminate its men's department. The store coordinated with Remon's, allowing four employees to transfer to that chain's Summit location.
Former locations
- 800 Canal Street, New Orleans (closed 1987)
- Lake Forest Plaza, New Orleans
- Carrollton Shopping Center, New Orleans
- Retail Block, Birmingham
- Bottega Favorita, Birmingham
- Walnut and 4th Street, Louisville, Kentucky (former H. P. Selman's)
- Memphis, Tennessee (former Levy's)
References
- McClurg, Kelly (June 7, 2002) "Veteran retailer Gus Mayer shifts into modern mode." Birmingham Business Journal
- Kent, Dawn (April 11, 2010) "Upscale retailer Gus Mayer plans move to Summit." The Birmingham News
- Kent, Dawn (January 27, 2011) "End of Birmingham's Gus Mayer menswear proves bittersweet." The Birmingham News
- Kent, Dawn (February 24, 2011) "Gus Mayer aims for a younger, broader market." The Birmingham News