The first store was opened by Abram Jacobson in Reed City, Michigan in 1838. By the 1930s, the chain grew and expanded throughout the state and to neighboring states such as Ohio and Indiana. The chain included only 25 stores at its peak, but the fact that the company thrived for more than a century and a half is impressive, by anyone’s standards. Yet by the ’90s, the chain was suffering and filed for bankruptcy in 2002. All stores closed by 2011.
