Von Maur
Encyclopedia
Von Maur is an mid-range specialty department store
chain
with stores located in the Midwestern United States
and newly expansion stores in the Southern United States
. The chain, based in Davenport, Iowa
, sells mid-priced brand-name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, gifts, jewelry and shoes. As of November 3, 2008, the chain has 25 stores in ten states. New stores have recently opened in Louisville, Kentucky
and most recently in St. Louis, Missouri
. Missouri marked the chain's entry into a tenth state and spreading into the midsouth. In 2011, another store will open in an Atlanta suburb and mark the company's entrance into the Southeast region of the states. All of its stores are anchors of shopping mall
s or lifestyle center
s. A hallmark of some of the Von Maur services are a no-interest
bearing credit card account, free shipping and free gift wrapping
offered every day. Another signature element of Von Maur stores is a live pianist
who performs for customers during normal business hours. It competes on the same level as Nordstrom
and Lord & Taylor
.
In 1872 German
immigrant J. H. C. Petersen and his three sons, patriots who favored democracy in Germany and thus had to flee, by virtue of their being patriots in favor of independence in Germany, opened a store in a 20-foot-by-50-foot storefront in downtown Davenport, Iowa
. The store would eventually expand and move into their flagship store, the Redstone Building at 2nd and Main Streets in Davenport.
The brothers were distinguished by their commitment to the fledgling operation; sleeping, if need be, on the counters of the store. The father, J.H.C., ended his life at 510 W. 6th St., Davenport, IA. H.F. Petersen bought "Marquette Heights" before his death. Max built the houses that would later become part of Marycrest upon his daughter Dorothy Stuck's death. Willy's legacy lives on in the Bix bandshell and riverfront park. Were it not for Willy, there would be no Bix Biederbecke park. The Petersen sons fled Northern Germany to start anew in the U.S. Otto Klug, immigrant of the 1848 revolution, ancestors dating back to 15/1700's on Fehmarn Island, became a father-in-law to J.H.C. Petersen.
Mr. Klug was a formidable leader in the early Davenport settlement. Like many of the educated and talented refugees from the 1848 revolution, Otto Klug brought much-needed capital to the American West. His children and sons-in-law, like J.H.C. Petersen, availed themselves of Mr. Klug's knowledge and capital, to help build the Quad-Cities. The Petersen family was sadly not one in which males lived long.
In 1916, the J. H. C. Petersen Company, upon the death of all of its founders, except for its sole survivor, J.H.C. Petersen's son, Willy Petersen, he who built the bandshell that is the current home of the Bix Biederbecke Annual Jazz Fest, sold the family store to a partnership of R.H. Harned, C.J. von Maur, and Cable von Maur.
Willy by that point was living in California, yet his charitable fund lives on. Mr. Petersen was dedicated to leaving a historic legacy in his hometown, honoring his father and brothers.
C.J. von Maur, who came from Austria, established the Boston Store (later renamed Harned & Von Maur) in downtown Davenport in 1887. Despite the common ownership, Petersen's and Harned & Von Maur would continue to operate as separate stores for twelve years, even after C.J. von Maur died in 1926. On May 7, 1928, Harned & Von Maur merged with the Petersen's store in the Redstone Building. The store was renamed Petersen Harned Von Maur, which was often shortened to "Petersen's". The von Maur family assumed complete ownership of the store after R.H. Harned died in 1937.
. Another branch store opened at SouthPark Mall
in Moline, Illinois
, in 1974. In 1976, Petersen's opened its first store outside the Quad Cities
area at Valley West Mall
in West Des Moines, Iowa
. The company continued to open new stores in shopping malls throughout Iowa
and Illinois
during the late 1970s and 1980s; along the way it acquired two former Killian's
department stores in Cedar Rapids
and Iowa City, Iowa
, in 1981. As the company shifted its focus to malls, the Petersen Harned Von Maur flagship store in downtown Davenport closed in 1986. (The Redstone Building is now home to the River Music Experience
.)
Petersen Harned Von Maur shortened its name to Von Maur in 1989 to reflect the von Maur family's management of the company. One year later, it moved its corporate headquarters and executive offices from the Redstone Building to a 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) building on Brady Street (near the interchange with Interstate 80
) in Davenport. The company distributes all of its merchandise from this building using its own fleet of semi-trucks. It also has its own credit union and credit department as well as a print shop.
in Lombard, Illinois
. Von Maur currently has 6 stores in Illinois
, more than any other state. From there, the company expanded its geographic reach into Indiana
, Kansas
, Kentucky
, Minnesota
, and Nebraska
during the late 1990s and early 2000s while closing stores in Bettendorf, Iowa
and Muscatine, Iowa
, during this period. In 2004 Von Maur expanded into Michigan
by taking over two mall locations of the defunct Jacobson
chain (The Briarwood Mall
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
, and Laurel Park Place
in Livonia, Michigan
). In late 2005 it opened a store at Polaris Fashion Place
in Columbus, Ohio
, the 23rd store in the chain. On January 31, 2007, Von Maur closed its store at Westdale Mall
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
, which brought the store count down to 22. On Saturday, September 13, 2008, Von Maur opened its 23rd store, a 140000 sq ft (13,006.4 m²) store in Phase II of The Greene
, a project of Steiner Associates in Dayton, OH. The 24th store at the Corbin Park Lifestyle Center in Overland Park, Kansas had its soft opening on Monday, November 3, 2008 and the grand opening on Saturday, November 8, 2008.
location in Omaha, Nebraska
, was the site of a mass shooting. A sole gunman identified as Robert A. Hawkins, age 19, entered the store, which has three levels, killing eight people and injuring five others before killing himself. The shooting started at 1:42pm.
In response to the shootings, the company temporarily closed that location and set up a victims fund through the United Way of the Midlands. The store reopened on December 20, 2007.
On November 11, 2010, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Von Maur announced the chain would open its first store in the Southeast in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. The regional flagship store would convert a former location previously occupied by Lord & Taylor
, then Belk
, at the North Point Mall
into a much larger anchor. The store could open as early as November 2011, though the article states Fall 2012 is more likely. Direct mail advertising to some households in the area indicate the actual opening date to be November 5th, 2011. Additional stores in the region would include two additional Atlanta stores as well as an eventual expansion into Tennessee, Alabama, and the Carolinas. The chain also is proposing to open its first store in Alabama and second store in the Southeast at the Riverchase Galleria
in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover. The store will be located in the space first occupied by Macy's
, then Proffitt's
, and later Belk
; construction for the three-story building is slated to begin in 2012.
In March, 2011, the chain announced that it would enter the Wisconsin market with its first store based on a new lifestyle mall in the town of Brookfield, WI named Poplar Creek. The new store was to be an expansion of the Brookfield Square Mall, but Von Maur chose the larger parcel of land at the corner of Barker Road and Blue Mound Road because of concerns from its retail competitor, Bon-Ton Stores (which owns Boston Store and Carson Pirie Scott). The new store that is proposed will have a three story parking structure with the store, with the three story Von Maur building as the anchor. Final design and other details are still pending.
In November 2011, it was announced that Von Maur would enter the New York market with a store at Eastview Mall
outside Rochester
, replacing a Bon-Ton store. Von Maur's first northeast location, it is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.
In 2011, VonMaur announced that it would open a store in Coralville, Iowa
. The Iowa City-Coralville Metro Area already has a VonMaur at Sycamore Mall in Iowa City, Iowa
, but the company is unsure whether they will keep that location open. Also VonMaur has a store 20 miles north in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
at Lindale Mall
.
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
chain
Chain store
Chain stores are retail outlets that share a brand and central management, and usually have standardized business methods and practices. These characteristics also apply to chain restaurants and some service-oriented chain businesses. In retail, dining and many service categories, chain businesses...
with stores located in the Midwestern United States
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
and newly expansion stores in the Southern United States
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
. The chain, based in Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
, sells mid-priced brand-name apparel, accessories, cosmetics, gifts, jewelry and shoes. As of November 3, 2008, the chain has 25 stores in ten states. New stores have recently opened in Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville, Kentucky
Louisville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kentucky, and the county seat of Jefferson County. Since 2003, the city's borders have been coterminous with those of the county because of a city-county merger. The city's population at the 2010 census was 741,096...
and most recently in St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
. Missouri marked the chain's entry into a tenth state and spreading into the midsouth. In 2011, another store will open in an Atlanta suburb and mark the company's entrance into the Southeast region of the states. All of its stores are anchors of shopping mall
Shopping mall
A shopping mall, shopping centre, shopping arcade, shopping precinct or simply mall is one or more buildings forming a complex of shops representing merchandisers, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit, along with a parking area — a modern, indoor version...
s or lifestyle center
Lifestyle center (retail)
A lifestyle center is a shopping center or mixed-used commercial development that combines the traditional retail functions of a shopping mall with leisure amenities oriented towards upscale consumers...
s. A hallmark of some of the Von Maur services are a no-interest
Interest
Interest is a fee paid by a borrower of assets to the owner as a form of compensation for the use of the assets. It is most commonly the price paid for the use of borrowed money, or money earned by deposited funds....
bearing credit card account, free shipping and free gift wrapping
Gift wrapping
Gift wrapping refers to the act of enclosing a gift in some sort of material. Wrapping paper is a kind of paper designed for gift wrapping. Gifts may also be wrapped in a box...
offered every day. Another signature element of Von Maur stores is a live pianist
Pianist
A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...
who performs for customers during normal business hours. It competes on the same level as Nordstrom
Nordstrom
Nordstrom, Inc. is an upscale department store chain in the United States, founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin. Initially a shoe retailer, the company today also sells clothing, accessories, handbags, jewelry, cosmetics, fragrances, and in some locations, home furnishings...
and Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
.
Beginnings
Schleswig-Holstein
Schleswig-Holstein is the northernmost of the sixteen states of Germany, comprising most of the historical duchy of Holstein and the southern part of the former Duchy of Schleswig...
immigrant J. H. C. Petersen and his three sons, patriots who favored democracy in Germany and thus had to flee, by virtue of their being patriots in favor of independence in Germany, opened a store in a 20-foot-by-50-foot storefront in downtown Davenport, Iowa
Davenport, Iowa
Davenport is a city located along the Mississippi River in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Davenport is the county seat of and largest city in Scott County. Davenport was founded on May 14, 1836 by Antoine LeClaire and was named for his friend, George Davenport, a colonel during the Black Hawk...
. The store would eventually expand and move into their flagship store, the Redstone Building at 2nd and Main Streets in Davenport.
The brothers were distinguished by their commitment to the fledgling operation; sleeping, if need be, on the counters of the store. The father, J.H.C., ended his life at 510 W. 6th St., Davenport, IA. H.F. Petersen bought "Marquette Heights" before his death. Max built the houses that would later become part of Marycrest upon his daughter Dorothy Stuck's death. Willy's legacy lives on in the Bix bandshell and riverfront park. Were it not for Willy, there would be no Bix Biederbecke park. The Petersen sons fled Northern Germany to start anew in the U.S. Otto Klug, immigrant of the 1848 revolution, ancestors dating back to 15/1700's on Fehmarn Island, became a father-in-law to J.H.C. Petersen.
Mr. Klug was a formidable leader in the early Davenport settlement. Like many of the educated and talented refugees from the 1848 revolution, Otto Klug brought much-needed capital to the American West. His children and sons-in-law, like J.H.C. Petersen, availed themselves of Mr. Klug's knowledge and capital, to help build the Quad-Cities. The Petersen family was sadly not one in which males lived long.
In 1916, the J. H. C. Petersen Company, upon the death of all of its founders, except for its sole survivor, J.H.C. Petersen's son, Willy Petersen, he who built the bandshell that is the current home of the Bix Biederbecke Annual Jazz Fest, sold the family store to a partnership of R.H. Harned, C.J. von Maur, and Cable von Maur.
Willy by that point was living in California, yet his charitable fund lives on. Mr. Petersen was dedicated to leaving a historic legacy in his hometown, honoring his father and brothers.
C.J. von Maur, who came from Austria, established the Boston Store (later renamed Harned & Von Maur) in downtown Davenport in 1887. Despite the common ownership, Petersen's and Harned & Von Maur would continue to operate as separate stores for twelve years, even after C.J. von Maur died in 1926. On May 7, 1928, Harned & Von Maur merged with the Petersen's store in the Redstone Building. The store was renamed Petersen Harned Von Maur, which was often shortened to "Petersen's". The von Maur family assumed complete ownership of the store after R.H. Harned died in 1937.
1970s-1980s
In the company's centennial year of 1972, Petersen Harned Von Maur opened its first branch store at Duck Creek Plaza in Bettendorf, IowaBettendorf, Iowa
Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Bettendorf is the fifteenth largest city in the U.S. state of Iowa and the fourth largest city in the "Quad Cities". As of the 2010 United States Census the population grew to 33,217. Bettendorf is one of the Quad Cities, along with...
. Another branch store opened at SouthPark Mall
Southpark Mall (Moline, Illinois)
SouthPark Mall is the name of the shopping mall located in Moline, Illinois. As Moline is part of the Quad Cities of Illinois and Iowa, the mall services part of the population of these cities. The mall is located southwest of the intersection of Interstate 74 and Illinois Route 5 at 4500 16th...
in Moline, Illinois
Moline, Illinois
Moline is a city located in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States, with a population of 45,792 in 2010. Moline is one of the Quad Cities, along with neighboring East Moline and Rock Island in Illinois and the cities of Davenport and Bettendorf in Iowa. The Quad Cities has a population of...
, in 1974. In 1976, Petersen's opened its first store outside the Quad Cities
Quad Cities
The Quad Cities is a group of five cities straddling the Mississippi River on the Iowa–Illinois boundary. These cities, Davenport and Bettendorf and Rock Island, Moline, and East Moline , are the center of the Quad Cities Metropolitan Area, which, as of 2010, had an estimated population of...
area at Valley West Mall
Valley West Mall
Valley West Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in West Des Moines, Iowa.-History:Frederick Watson, a developer from Minneapolis, Minnesota, first unveiled plans for Valley West Mall in 1971...
in West Des Moines, Iowa
West Des Moines, Iowa
West Des Moines is a city in Polk, Dallas, and Warren counties in the U.S. state of Iowa. As of the 2000 census, the city population was 46,403; a special census taken in the spring of 2005 counted 51,744 residents and the United States Census Bureau estimated that 53,889 residents lived there in...
. The company continued to open new stores in shopping malls throughout Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
and Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
during the late 1970s and 1980s; along the way it acquired two former Killian's
Killian's
George Killian's Irish Red is a 4.9% abv amber lager brewed by Coors, and widely distributed in the US. The brand name was purchased from the Pelforth Brewery in France, who had previously bought it from Lett's Brewery in Ireland, which had closed in 1956....
department stores in Cedar Rapids
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
and Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
, in 1981. As the company shifted its focus to malls, the Petersen Harned Von Maur flagship store in downtown Davenport closed in 1986. (The Redstone Building is now home to the River Music Experience
River Music Experience
The River Music Experience is a multi-use music facility and 5013 non-profit organization located on the first two floors of the historic Redstone Building in downtown Davenport, Iowa....
.)
Petersen Harned Von Maur shortened its name to Von Maur in 1989 to reflect the von Maur family's management of the company. One year later, it moved its corporate headquarters and executive offices from the Redstone Building to a 200000 square feet (18,580.6 m²) building on Brady Street (near the interchange with Interstate 80
Interstate 80
Interstate 80 is the second-longest Interstate Highway in the United States, following Interstate 90. It is a transcontinental artery running from downtown San Francisco, California to Teaneck, New Jersey in the New York City Metropolitan Area...
) in Davenport. The company distributes all of its merchandise from this building using its own fleet of semi-trucks. It also has its own credit union and credit department as well as a print shop.
1990s
Von Maur successfully entered the Chicago market in 1994 with a 207000 square feet (19,230.9 m²) flagship store at Yorktown CenterYorktown Center
Yorktown Center is an enclosed regional shopping mall located in the village of Lombard, a suburb of Chicago, Illinois, United States. Opened in 1968, the mall currently features more than 100 stores on two levels. Anchor stores include Carson Pirie Scott, JCPenney, and a flagship Von Maur...
in Lombard, Illinois
Lombard, Illinois
Lombard, "The Lilac Village", is a suburb of Chicago in DuPage County, Illinois. The population was 42,322 at the 2000 census. The United States Census Bureau estimated the population in 2004 to be 42,975.-History:...
. Von Maur currently has 6 stores in Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
, more than any other state. From there, the company expanded its geographic reach into Indiana
Indiana
Indiana is a US state, admitted to the United States as the 19th on December 11, 1816. It is located in the Midwestern United States and Great Lakes Region. With 6,483,802 residents, the state is ranked 15th in population and 16th in population density. Indiana is ranked 38th in land area and is...
, Kansas
Kansas
Kansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, Kentucky
Kentucky
The Commonwealth of Kentucky is a state located in the East Central United States of America. As classified by the United States Census Bureau, Kentucky is a Southern state, more specifically in the East South Central region. Kentucky is one of four U.S. states constituted as a commonwealth...
, Minnesota
Minnesota
Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, and Nebraska
Nebraska
Nebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
during the late 1990s and early 2000s while closing stores in Bettendorf, Iowa
Bettendorf, Iowa
Bettendorf is a city in Scott County, Iowa, United States. Bettendorf is the fifteenth largest city in the U.S. state of Iowa and the fourth largest city in the "Quad Cities". As of the 2010 United States Census the population grew to 33,217. Bettendorf is one of the Quad Cities, along with...
and Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine, Iowa
Muscatine is a city in Muscatine County, Iowa, United States. The population was 22,886 in the 2010 census, an increase from 22,697 in the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Muscatine County...
, during this period. In 2004 Von Maur expanded into Michigan
Michigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
by taking over two mall locations of the defunct Jacobson
Jacobson Stores
Jacobson's is an American regional department store chain. Based in Jackson, Michigan, the chain operated primarily in Michigan and Florida, but also had stores in Ohio, Indiana, Kentucky and Kansas. Jacobson's focused on apparel, fine jewelry and home furnishings. The chain entered bankruptcy in...
chain (The Briarwood Mall
Briarwood Mall
Briarwood Mall is a shopping mall in Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States. The mall's four anchor stores are Macy's, JCPenney, Sears, and Von Maur. Surrounded by office and other development, the mall anchors the southern Ann Arbor commercial area around Eisenhower Boulevard and I-94. It serves as...
in Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor, Michigan
Ann Arbor is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan and the county seat of Washtenaw County. The 2010 census places the population at 113,934, making it the sixth largest city in Michigan. The Ann Arbor Metropolitan Statistical Area had a population of 344,791 as of 2010...
, and Laurel Park Place
Laurel Park Place
Laurel Park Place is an enclosed upscale shopping mall located in the city of Livonia, a suburb of Detroit, Michigan, United States. The mall, which is managed by CBL & Associates Properties, features over 70 restaurants and stores, with Parisian and Von Maur as anchor stores...
in Livonia, Michigan
Livonia, Michigan
Livonia is a city in the northwest part of Wayne County in the U.S. state of Michigan. Livonia is a very large suburb with an array of traditional neighborhoods connected to the metropolitan area by freeways. The population was 96,942 at the 2010 census, making it Michigan's 9th largest...
). In late 2005 it opened a store at Polaris Fashion Place
Polaris Fashion Place
Polaris Fashion Place is a two level shopping mall and surrounding retail plaza serving Columbus, Ohio, United States. The mall, owned locally by Glimcher Realty Trust, is located off Interstate 71 on Polaris Parkway in Delaware County just to the north of the boundary between Delaware and Franklin...
in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
, the 23rd store in the chain. On January 31, 2007, Von Maur closed its store at Westdale Mall
Westdale Mall
Westdale Mall is an enclosed super-regional shopping mall in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The two-level mall on the southwest side of Cedar Rapids is one of the city's two enclosed malls, along with Lindale Mall on the city's northeast side...
in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
, which brought the store count down to 22. On Saturday, September 13, 2008, Von Maur opened its 23rd store, a 140000 sq ft (13,006.4 m²) store in Phase II of The Greene
The Greene
The Greene Town Center, , is a mixed-use development located in Beavercreek, Ohio ....
, a project of Steiner Associates in Dayton, OH. The 24th store at the Corbin Park Lifestyle Center in Overland Park, Kansas had its soft opening on Monday, November 3, 2008 and the grand opening on Saturday, November 8, 2008.
Von Maur shooting
On Wednesday, December 5, 2007, the Von Maur Westroads MallWestroads Mall
Westroads Mall is an enclosed shopping mall with over 135 stores located in Omaha, Nebraska at the intersection of 100th and Dodge Streets. It is the largest mall in the state of Nebraska, with 14.5 million customer visits annually....
location in Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, was the site of a mass shooting. A sole gunman identified as Robert A. Hawkins, age 19, entered the store, which has three levels, killing eight people and injuring five others before killing himself. The shooting started at 1:42pm.
In response to the shootings, the company temporarily closed that location and set up a victims fund through the United Way of the Midlands. The store reopened on December 20, 2007.
Today
Today, the privately held company remains under the leadership of the Von Maur family, including co-chairmen Charles R. von Maur and Richard B. von Maur, as well as president James D. von MaurOn November 11, 2010, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Von Maur announced the chain would open its first store in the Southeast in the Atlanta suburb of Alpharetta. The regional flagship store would convert a former location previously occupied by Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor
Lord & Taylor, colloquially known as L&T, or LT, based in New York City, is the oldest upscale, specialty-retail department store chain in the United States. Concentrated in the eastern U.S., the retailer operated independently for nearly a century prior to joining American Dry Goods...
, then Belk
Belk
Belk is a department store chain founded in 1888 in Monroe, North Carolina, today part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. After the founding of the first Belk store, the company grew in size and influence throughout the South via the chain in the USA, with its stores primarily located in the...
, at the North Point Mall
North Point Mall
North Point Mall, is a super-regional shopping mall, located in Alpharetta, Georgia .The mall opened on October 3, 1993 as one of the largest shopping malls in the country. The mall, originally a Homart property, is now owned and managed by General Growth Properties...
into a much larger anchor. The store could open as early as November 2011, though the article states Fall 2012 is more likely. Direct mail advertising to some households in the area indicate the actual opening date to be November 5th, 2011. Additional stores in the region would include two additional Atlanta stores as well as an eventual expansion into Tennessee, Alabama, and the Carolinas. The chain also is proposing to open its first store in Alabama and second store in the Southeast at the Riverchase Galleria
Riverchase Galleria
Riverchase Galleria, locally known as The Galleria, is a large super–regional shopping mall in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover, Alabama. It is the 25th largest shopping mall in the United States...
in the Birmingham suburb of Hoover. The store will be located in the space first occupied by Macy's
Macy's
Macy's is a U.S. chain of mid-to-high range department stores. In addition to its flagship Herald Square location in New York City, the company operates over 800 stores in the United States...
, then Proffitt's
Proffitt's
Proffitt's was a department store chain based in Alcoa, Tennessee. On March 8, 2006, the Proffitt's and McRae's stores were converted into Belk stores. Belk acquired the two chains in July 2005 from Saks Incorporated.-Beginnings:...
, and later Belk
Belk
Belk is a department store chain founded in 1888 in Monroe, North Carolina, today part of the Charlotte metropolitan area. After the founding of the first Belk store, the company grew in size and influence throughout the South via the chain in the USA, with its stores primarily located in the...
; construction for the three-story building is slated to begin in 2012.
In March, 2011, the chain announced that it would enter the Wisconsin market with its first store based on a new lifestyle mall in the town of Brookfield, WI named Poplar Creek. The new store was to be an expansion of the Brookfield Square Mall, but Von Maur chose the larger parcel of land at the corner of Barker Road and Blue Mound Road because of concerns from its retail competitor, Bon-Ton Stores (which owns Boston Store and Carson Pirie Scott). The new store that is proposed will have a three story parking structure with the store, with the three story Von Maur building as the anchor. Final design and other details are still pending.
In November 2011, it was announced that Von Maur would enter the New York market with a store at Eastview Mall
Eastview Mall
Eastview Mall, located in Victor, New York and managed by Mike Kauffman, is an indoor shopping center owned and operated by Wilmorite Management Group, LLC ....
outside Rochester
Rochester, New York
Rochester is a city in Monroe County, New York, south of Lake Ontario in the United States. Known as The World's Image Centre, it was also once known as The Flour City, and more recently as The Flower City...
, replacing a Bon-Ton store. Von Maur's first northeast location, it is scheduled to open in the fall of 2013.
In 2011, VonMaur announced that it would open a store in Coralville, Iowa
Coralville, Iowa
Coralville is a city in Johnson County, Iowa, United States. It is a suburb of Iowa City and part of the Iowa City Metropolitan Statistical Area...
. The Iowa City-Coralville Metro Area already has a VonMaur at Sycamore Mall in Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City, Iowa
Iowa City is a city in Johnson County, State of Iowa. As of the 2010 Census, the city had a total population of about 67,862, making it the sixth-largest city in the state. Iowa City is the county seat of Johnson County and home to the University of Iowa...
, but the company is unsure whether they will keep that location open. Also VonMaur has a store 20 miles north in Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids, Iowa
Cedar Rapids is the second largest city in Iowa and is the county seat of Linn County. The city lies on both banks of the Cedar River, north of Iowa City and east of Des Moines, the state's capital and largest city...
at Lindale Mall
Lindale Mall
Lindale Mall is an enclosed regional shopping mall on the northeast side of Cedar Rapids, Iowa.Lindale is anchored by Sears, Von Maur, and Younkers...
.