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20-473: The site started with a Boscov's Department Store in August 1972 and was completed in 1975. The Boscov's store at Lebanon Valley Mall was the first Boscov's location to be opened outside of Berks County . The Lebanon Valley Mall Company, a real estate development group owned by parent company Boscov's, oversaw construction of this mall on U.S. Route 422 on the west side of town. Boscov's then served as one of

40-811: A Crack! of the Netflix comedy series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt . It is also mentioned in NBC's The Office , Season 5, Episode 25, “Casual Friday”. Fowler, Dick %26 Walker Fowler, Dick & Walker , later known as Fowler's , was a chain of department stores , also called The Boston Store. They started business as a very small dry goods store in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania in 1879, occupying space in another establishment at 120 South Main Street. The founders were George Fowler, Alexander Dick and Gilbert Walker. They had previous employment experience in

60-552: A result, the Boscov's West store in Sinking Spring closed. In 2006, Albert Boscov, the son of Solomon Boscov, retired and his nephew Kenneth Lakin became chairman and chief executive. Lakin led an aggressive expansion of the chain, opening 10 new stores by 2008. Boscov's acquired these locations from Federated Department Stores following the merger with The May Department Stores Company . The new stores opened just prior to

80-623: Is Jim Boscov, who took over after his uncle Albert Boscov retired. Solomon "Sol" Boscov was of Jewish descent. He emigrated from Russia to Reading, Pennsylvania , in 1911. He had $ 1.37 in cash (equal to $ 44.8 today) on arrival in the United States. He worked as a traveling salesman with an initial $ 8 worth of merchandise. Because he spoke Yiddish , he was able to converse with people in Berks County who spoke Pennsylvania Dutch . Boscov's fortunes changed in 1914 when he opened

100-639: Is now headed by his nephew, Jim Boscov. Boscov's continuing success makes it regarded as somewhat of an "outlier" because many department store retailers had begun pulling back to a degree on brick-and-mortar formats. Boscov's saw record sales of $ 1.2 billion in 2017. Since 2009, the chain continues to expand and opened its 47th store in Milford, Connecticut , in October 2018. Boscov's plans to continue to open one store per year and has invested in older stores by renovating them. Boscov's announced plans to move into

120-469: The 2008 economic downturn and in August 2008, Boscov's filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy . Albert Boscov came out of retirement and regained control of the company. As part of the bankruptcy, 10 stores were shuttered, two of which were reopened. The company emerged from bankruptcy in September 2009. Albert Boscov died from pancreatic cancer on February 10, 2017, at the age of eighty-seven. The chain

140-699: The Philadelphia market in the late 1980s by opening Ports of the World stores. These stores would later be re-branded as Boscov's sometime in the mid-1990s. In 1983, Boscov's leased the Fowler's department store building and opened the next year in downtown Binghamton, New York . In August 2002, Boscov's opened a store at the Berkshire Mall in Wyomissing , replacing a Strawbridge's store. As

160-755: The Providence Place mall in Providence, Rhode Island , in 2019. The store opened on September 26, 2019. In 2020, Boscov's announced plans to open at Eastwood Mall in Niles, Ohio . The store opened on October 7, 2021, a year late due to the COVID-19 pandemic . In 2023, Boscov's announced that a store will open at the Meadowbrook Mall in Bridgeport, West Virginia , in the later part of

180-665: The Reading area. When Gimbels went out of business in 1986, WPVI-TV and Boscov's took over the sponsorship of the Philadelphia Thanksgiving Day Parade . Boscov's remained a co-sponsor until 2007. The Boscov's in Camp Hill, Pennsylvania , was used to represent the fictional department store Illustra in the 1987 film Mannequin . Boscov's is mentioned in the Season 3 episode Kimmy Steps on

200-771: The company in 1960. The first Boscov's location outside of Berks County opened at the Lebanon Valley Mall in Lebanon, Pennsylvania , in August 1972. Boscov's bought Fowler, Dick and Walker, the Boston Store in 1980. One of Wilkes-Barre 's last remaining downtown department stores, it was Boscov's first multi-story store. Boscov's opened its first location outside of Pennsylvania at the Dover Mall in Dover, Delaware , in August 1982. Boscov's first entered

220-606: The dry goods business in Connecticut . The first store opened for business on April 5, 1879. By December, they were advertising in other nearby towns, and by February had 18 employees. In 1882, they opened a Binghamton, New York branch. In 1889, there was also an Evansville, Indiana branch of the business, well-known in the region by 1892. By 1904, they were advertising their new store location in Binghamton, New York on Court Street and Water Street. The "new" store

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240-729: The first Boscov's store at 9th and Pike streets in Reading. A Pennsylvania Historical Marker commemorating Solomon Boscov stands at the site of the original store. Boscov's began expanding in the Reading suburbs during the 1960s, with the Boscov's West store in Sinking Spring opening in November 1962 and the Boscov's North store at the Reading Fairgrounds in Muhlenberg Township opening in August 1965. The Boscov's East store along 9th Street in Reading

260-689: The former Ames space. Price Rite opened in June 2015. Boscov%27s Boscov's Inc. is a family-owned department store with fifty locations in Pennsylvania , New York , New Jersey , Delaware , Maryland , Ohio , Connecticut , West Virginia and Rhode Island . Twenty-six of these stores are located in Pennsylvania. Corporate headquarters are located in Exeter Township, Pennsylvania , near Reading . The company chairman

280-406: The next major expansion began in 1996; JCPenney then became a new anchor, but has since closed. Great Escape Lebanon Valley 10 opened at the mall in 2006, and was later changed to a Regal in 2014. The mall previously had a Fox Theater. In 2010, mall managers announced that Hobby Lobby would open that year in the former JCPenney space. Planet Fitness then opened in early 2014, using part of

300-474: The original anchor stores , along with G. C. Murphy 's discount division, Murphy's Mart. Other major tenants upon opening included Acme Markets , Rea & Derrick drugstore, Kinney Shoes , RadioShack , Zales Jewelers , Hardee's , General Nutrition Center , Waldenbooks , and a movie theater. In 1988, following the closure of the Acme Markets grocery store, Boscov's expanded into that space. Work on

320-578: The same time Wilkes-Barre’s Wyoming Valley Mall opened. A branch store was opened in the Laurel Mall in Hazleton, Pennsylvania , which Fowler, Dick and Walker also developed. The combination of the slowdown at the main Wilkes-Barre store and the expense of opening the new store which started off slowly, proved too much. Fowler, Dick and Walker celebrated its 100th anniversary in 1979 and then

340-494: The year; this will be Boscov's 50th store and first location in the state. The 50th store located in West Virginia opened on October 7, 2023. During the 1970s, Boscov's launched its "Friends Helping Friends" program, an annual fundraising event which has raised roughly a million dollars each year for non-profit organizations. Boscov's sponsors the annual "Boscov's Berks Jazz Fest" which draws 35,000 to 40,000 people to

360-455: Was destroyed by fire in February 1967 and was replaced by a new Boscov's East store in Exeter Township in November 1967. The Boscov's West store was destroyed by fire in November 1967 and reopened in November 1968. By 1968, Boscov's had five stores, 2,200 workers, and annual sales exceeding $ 50 million. Solomon Boscov retired and was succeeded by his son Albert "Albie" Boscov as head of

380-447: Was sold first to a local entrepreneur and then to Boscov's. Both the Wilkes-Barre and Hazleton stores became very successful Boscov's locations and are open in 2019. In Binghamton by 1980, Fowler’s had gone through several corporate owners, and the parent company declared bankruptcy. At the time, Fowler's had the original Wilkes-Barre store (now occupying the whole of the building) and two Binghamton-area locations The Binghamton store

400-599: Was the flagship for over 75 years, with another and is still in use as a Boscov's department store as of 2019 . The Indiana subsidiary was dissolved in 1934. Another Fowler's opened in 1975 in the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City , close to Binghamton, but the main store on Court Street continued to function. The main Wilkes-Barre store was severely damaged in the Hurricane Agnes flood in 1972 while at

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