L. L. Berger was a high-end Department Store based in Buffalo, New York

Buffalo, New York

Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...

. The family owned store was started by Louis L. Berger in 1905, at 500 Main Street. The company grew through the next two decades and opened its flagship store at 514 Main Street on February 4, 1929. The first suburban branch opened in 1953, at Thruway Plaza (later Thruway Mall) in Cheektowaga, New York, followed in 1960, with a location at Sheridan Plaza, in Tonawanda (Town), New York

Tonawanda (town), New York

Tonawanda is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2000 census, the town had a population of 78,155. The town is at the north border of the county and is the northern suburb of Buffalo...

. At the death of its founder in 1967, the L. L. Berger company was "compared in fashion retailing to Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue

Saks Fifth Avenue is a luxury American specialty store owned and operated by Saks Fifth Avenue Enterprises , a subsidiary of Saks Incorporated. It competes in the high-end specialty store market in the Upper East Side of Manhattan, i.e. 'the 3 B's' Bergdorf, Barneys, Bloomingdale's and Lord & Taylor...

 and Lord and Taylor in New York, I. Magnin

I. Magnin

I. Magnin & Company was a San Francisco, California-based high fashion and specialty goods luxury department store. Over the course of its existence, it expanded across the West into Southern California and the adjoining states of Arizona, Oregon, and Washington...

 in San Francisco, and Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus

Neiman Marcus, formerly Neiman-Marcus, is a luxury specialty retail department store operated by the Neiman Marcus Group in the United States. The company is headquartered in the One Marcus Square building in Downtown Dallas, Texas, and competes with other department stores such as Saks Fifth...

 in Dallas." Expansion continued with stores opening in 1969, at the Seneca Mall

Seneca Mall

Seneca Mall, which opened in 1969, was a shopping mall south of Buffalo, New York, USA. The mall was located in the Town of West Seneca at the intersection of Ridge Road and Slade Avenue immediately east of the New York State Thruway .The William Hengerer Company originally sought to develop a...

, in West Seneca, New York

West Seneca, New York

West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 44,711 at the 2010 census. West Seneca is a centrally-located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo...

 and 1970, at the Northtown Plaza in Amherst, New York

Amherst, New York

Amherst is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2010 census, the town had a total population of 122,366. This represents an increase of 5.0% from the 2000 census. The town is named for Jeffrey Amherst, a British Army officer of the colonial period...

. Additional stores opened in 1975, at the Lockport Mall, in Lockport, New York

Lockport (city), New York

Lockport is a city in Niagara County, New York, United States. The population was 21,165 at the 2010 census. The name is derived from a set of Erie canal locks within the city. Lockport is the county seat of Niagara County and is surrounded by the town of Lockport...

; in 1982 at the Transitown Plaza in Clarence, New York

Clarence, New York

Clarence is a town located in the northeastern part of Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 30,673 according to the 2010 census. This represents an increase of 17.42% from the 2000 census figure . Clarence is also the name of a postal district in the south part of the town...

; in 1988 at the McKinley Mall

McKinley Mall

McKinley Mall, which opened in 1985, is a shopping mall south of Buffalo, New York, USA. The mall is located in the Town of Hamburg at the intersection of McKinley Parkway and Milestrip Road immediately east of the New York State Thruway. McKinley Mall services the Southtowns of Erie County...

, in Hamburg, New York; and in 1989 at the Walden Galleria

Walden Galleria

Walden Galleria is an enclosed shopping mall located in the town of Cheektowaga, New York. Walden Galleria comprises more than of retail space, with 250 stores on two levels, including a food court and a movie theater. Anchor stores include Best Buy, Dick's Sporting Goods, DSW Shoe Warehouse,...

 in Cheektowaga, New York. A second Buffalo location opened at 510 Elmwood Avenue in the early 1980s. The company filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1991. In the early 2000s the flagship store was renovated to be upscale apartments and commercial space.