Frost Bros. was a high-fashion retail chain based in

San Antonio, Texas ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

. The retailer opened its first store in 1917 at 217 E. Houston Street in

Downtown San Antonio Downtown San Antonio is the central business district of San Antonio, Texas, United States. It also serves as the urban core of Greater San Antonio, a metropolitan area with nearly 2.5 million people. In addition to being encircled by Loops 1604 ...

. Frost Bros. was known for quality personal service, including name recognition, purchase preferences, and personal shoppers. Their customer service was on the same level as

Neiman Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...

Saks Fifth Avenue Saks Fifth Avenue (originally Saks & Company; Colloquialism, colloquially Saks) is an American Luxury goods, luxury department store chain headquartered in New York City and founded by Andrew Saks. The original store opened in the F Street and ...

, and

Nordstrom Nordstrom, Inc. () is an American luxury department store chain headquartered in Seattle, Washington, and founded by John W. Nordstrom and Carl F. Wallin in 1901. The original Wallin & Nordstrom store operated exclusively as a shoe store, and ...

. Frost Bros. filed for bankruptcy protection in April 1988, and its four remaining stores were liquidated in mid-1989 after the company failed to successfully reorganize.

History

Founders in 1917 : Frost Brothers Company, San Antonio, was chartered in June 30, 1917, with capital of $20,000. The incorporators were Jonas Martin Frost Sr. (1888–1945), William Cohen Frost (1884–1942), and Harry Hertzberg (1883–1940). 1960–1989 Battelstein's -- Houston

: Irving Mathews was Frost's chief executive officer from 1960 through 1986.

Manhattan Industries Manhattan Industries was founded as the Manhattan Shirt Company by Lewis Levi in 1857. His son Abram Leeds took over and grew the company to be one of the largest shirt producers. Brands under the company included Henry Grethel, The Vera Companies, ...

acquired the specialty chain in 1970. Manhattan Industries would merge upscale Houston department store Battelstein's under the Frost Bros. name. In 1972, Manhattan Industries would acquire Lichtenstein's department store in Corpus Christi and begin operating the location as Frost Bros. beginning in 1977. In 1980, it was acquired for $27.2 million by the Garfinckel, Brooks Brothers, Miller & Rhoads, Inc. retail conglomerate. By 1986, Frost Bros. operated 12 locations in

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

and a

Gucci Gucci (, ; ) is an Italian high-end luxury fashion house based in Florence, Italy. Its product lines include handbags, ready-to-wear, footwear, accessories, and home decoration; and it licenses its name and branding to Coty, Inc. for fragrance ...

boutique at

Copley Plaza The Fairmont Copley Plaza is a Forbes four-star, AAA four-diamond hotel in downtown Boston, Massachusetts managed by Fairmont Hotels and Resorts. It stands on Copley Square, part of an architectural ensemble that includes the John Hancock Tower, ...

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. Murry Berkowitz, as merchandise manager / buyer and leader, was responsible for the unique product selection and individual employee growth which made this store unique within North America. : The specialty retail chain was purchased by Dallas businessman

Sam Wyly Samuel Evans Wyly (born October 4, 1934) is an American businessman. He first appeared on ''Forbes''s list of richest Americans in 2000 with a net worth of $750 million, and he remained on that list throughout 2010 with a net worth of $1 billio ...

and his wife,

Torie Steele Wyly Torie is a given name and a nickname. Notable people with this name include the following Given name * Torie Osborn (born 1950), Danish activist, and author Nickname *Victoria Clarke (born 1959), American communications consultant known as Torie ...

, from Manhattan Industries in 1986. Sam Wyly named Joel Edward Rath (born 1938), a top executive at

, to the position of president and chief executive officer of Frost Bros. shortly after completing the purchase. : Frost Bros. acquired

Delman Shoe Salons A dogcart (or dog-cart) is a light horse-drawn vehicle, originally designed for sporting shooters, with a box behind the driver's seat to contain one or more retriever dogs. The dog box could be converted to a second seat. Later variants include ...

in June 1987 and operated Delman as a division of Frost Bros. : In 1988

Don Morris Don, don or DON and variants may refer to: Places *County Donegal, Ireland, Chapman code DON *Don (river), a river in European Russia *Don River (disambiguation), several other rivers with the name *Don, Benin, a town in Benin *Don, Dang, a vill ...

was named chairman and chief executive officer of Frost Bros.

Larry Gore Larry is a masculine given name in English, derived from Lawrence or Laurence. It can be a shortened form of those names. Larry may refer to the following: People Arts and entertainment *Larry D. Alexander, American artist/writer * Larry Boon ...

, president of Delman, assumed the additional responsibilities of president of Frost Bros. Morris and Gore succeeded Joel E. Rath, who resigned as president and chief executive officer of Frost Bros. Wyly, the chairman of Frost Bros., remained the majority stockholder. : After failing to reorganize while operating under bankruptcy protection, Frost Bros. was liquidated in mid-1989.

Personnel

Founders * Jonas Martin Frost Sr. (1888–1945) * William Cohen Frost (1884–1942) * Harry Hertzberg (1883–1940) Executives * Gilbert Lang, elected president of Frost Bros. in 1962 * Sidney Berkowitz, worked at Frost for 17 years (left in 1947); in 1950, he became executive director of

Neiman-Marcus Neiman Marcus Group, Inc. is an American integrated luxury retailer headquartered in Dallas, Texas, which owns Neiman Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Horchow, and Last Call. Since September 2021, NMG has been owned by a group of investment compani ...

' office in New York * Murray Berkowitz * Richard Frontman, former dress-designer who became president *

Irving Allen Mathews Irving Allen Mathews (8 Apr 1917 Toledo, Ohio – 7 February 1994, San Antonio) was an American specialty retail executive, who devoted 41 years to Frost Bros., formerly of San Antonio, Texas. He also served as Board Chairman of the Federal Reserv ...

(1917–1994), buyer, store president, director; 1945 to 1988 *

Eugene Lacritz Eugene Edward (Gene) Lacritz (16 November 1929 in Salem, Massachusetts – 18 May 2012 in San Antonio) was an American conductor, clarinetist, saxophonist, and a 31-year professional in management roles at four former specialty retail institution ...

(1929–2012), senior executive; 1963 to 1988

References

{{Authority control Defunct department stores based in Texas Retail companies established in 1917 Retail companies disestablished in 1989 Companies based in San Antonio Defunct companies based in Texas 1917 establishments in Texas 1989 disestablishments in Texas