Gabriel Brothers, Inc., (doing business as Gabe's) is an American

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store made a dramatic app ...

retail chain headquartered in Morgantown, West Virginia, United States. The company was incorporated in 1961 as Gabriel Brothers and renamed Gabe's in 2005. Gabe's is classified as an

off-price Off-price is a trading format based on discount pricing. Off-price retailers are independent of manufacturers and buy large volumes of branded goods directly from them. The off-price retail model relies on the purchase of over-produced, or excess, b ...

store, selling clothes and footwear at prices generally lower than other major similar stores, and a

variety store A variety store (also five and dime (historic), pound shop, or dollar store) is a retail store that sells general merchandise, such as apparel, automotive parts, dry goods, toys, hardware, home furnishings, and a selection of groceries. It u ...

as it sells food and other types of general merchandise. As of June 2022, Gabe's operates 122 stores in the United States, primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and

Southeastern The points of the compass are a set of horizontal, radially arrayed compass directions (or azimuths) used in navigation and cartography. A compass rose is primarily composed of four cardinal directions—north, east, south, and west—each se ...

United States.

History

In the early 1920s, Z.G. Gabriel began selling merchandise out of the back of a green-paneled truck he had outfitted with shelves and drawers. As he drove his mobile shop through the coal towns of

Fayette County, Pennsylvania Fayette County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland and West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,804. Its county seat is Uniontown. The county wa ...

, he greeted and got to know his customers, seeing firsthand the need for inexpensive merchandise. Z.G. began to hop freight trains bound for

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, taking empty duffle bags with him. There, he would buy up excess inventory from shops, returning with bags full of merchandise to sell at deep discounts. In 1961, Z.G.'s two sons, James and Arthur, co-founded the Gabriel Brothers Stores in Morgantown, West Virginia. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the brothers led Gabe's through an expansion into various states including Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia. In 2005, new ownership rebranded the stores as "Gabe's". As of June 2022, there are 122 store locations in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

Indiana Indiana () is a U.S. state in the Midwestern United States. It is the 38th-largest by area and the 17th-most populous of the 50 States. Its capital and largest city is Indianapolis. Indiana was admitted to the United States as the 19th s ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...

, New York,

North Carolina North Carolina () is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States. The state is the 28th largest and 9th-most populous of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, Georgia and ...

Ohio Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

South Carolina )'' Animis opibusque parati'' ( for, , Latin, Prepared in mind and resources, links=no) , anthem = " Carolina";" South Carolina On My Mind" , Former = Province of South Carolina , seat = Columbia , LargestCity = Charleston , LargestMetro = ...

Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...

Michigan Michigan () is a U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the List of U.S. states and ...

and

West Virginia West Virginia is a state in the Appalachian, Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States.The Census Bureau and the Association of American Geographers classify West Virginia as part of the Southern United States while the B ...

Gallery

File:Exterior, Gabe's, Rose Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg, Exterior of a Gabe's store in

Rose Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia Rose Hill is a census-designated place (CDP) in Fairfax County, Virginia, United States. The population was 20,226 at the 2010 census. Built in the mid-1950s, Rose Hill is the largest of the subdivisions that make up the CDP, which is just southwes ...

File:Goods for sale, Gabe's, Rose Hill, Fairfax County, Virginia.jpg, Interior of a Gabe's store in

References

External links

Official Website
Companies based in West Virginia Discount stores of the United States Companies based in Morgantown, West Virginia American companies established in 1961 Retail companies established in 1961 1961 establishments in West Virginia {{US-retail-company-stub