Hofheimer's was a

Norfolk, Virginia Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

-based chain of shoe stores that was once a leading

East Coast East Coast may refer to: Entertainment * East Coast hip hop, a subgenre of hip hop * East Coast (ASAP Ferg song), "East Coast" (ASAP Ferg song), 2017 * East Coast (Saves the Day song), "East Coast" (Saves the Day song), 2004 * East Coast FM, a ra ...

retailer. Victor Strasburger founded the company with the three Hofheimer brothers in 1885.''Hofheimer's exec kept personal touch'', Virginian-Pilot, Jul 26, 2006
/ref> it specialized in upscale men's and women's footwear, including

Florsheim shoe Florsheim Shoes is a shoe brand in the United States. History Florsheim & Co. was founded in 1892 by Milton S. Florsheim. He and his father Sigmund Florsheim made the first shoes in Chicago. Eventually, some stores were owned by and selling onl ...

s for men. One of the larger freestanding suburban stores was at Ward's Corner in Norfolk (the "Times Square of the South"),Virginia Business article, Feb. 28, 2011
/ref> which opened as the chain's fourth store in 1952. The Wards Corner location was in the same building as a Rices Nachman's department store. It had a children's play area and two live

monkeys Monkey is a common name that may refer to most mammals of the infraorder Simiiformes, also known as the simians. Traditionally, all animals in the group now known as simians are counted as monkeys except the apes, which constitutes an incomple ...

in a glass enclosed cage. This building was demolished in 2000, and as of 2018, is the location of a

Walgreens Walgreen Company, d/b/a Walgreens, is an American company that operates the second-largest pharmacy store chain in the United States behind CVS Health. It specializes in filling prescriptions, health and wellness products, health information, an ...

pharmacy."Rice's and Hofheimer's at Wards Corner"
''Virginian-Pilot'' (Feb. 26, 2014) Other major stores were at Norfolk's

Military Circle Mall Military Circle Mall, known as The Gallery at Military Circle Mall from 2002 to 2015, is a soon to be demolished enclosed shopping mall in Norfolk, Virginia. The mall opened in 1970. In October 2016 the Virginia Beach City Council rejected plans f ...

and on

Granby St. Norfolk ( ) is an independent city in the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. Incorporated in 1705, it had a population of 238,005 at the 2020 census, making it the third-most populous city in Virginia after neighboring Virginia Be ...

in Downtown Norfolk. Lewis D. Hirschler, grandson of company founder Victor Strasburger, served as president from 1974 - 1985. In 1982,Lewis D. Hirschler's Obituary
/ref> he sold the company to Ward White Investments, Ltd. of

Northamptonshire, England Northamptonshire (; abbreviated Northants.) is a Ceremonial counties of England, county in the East Midlands of England. In 2015, it had a population of 723,000. The county is administered by two unitary authority, unitary authorities: North N ...

.UPI - Hofheimers sold to Ward White Investments (Aug. 16, 1982)
/ref> The retailer began to decline in the 1990s, and the Ward's Corner store closed in 1993. The company is now defunct, having filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 1997 and closing for good in 1998.''Storefront: Hofheimer's Shoes To Close Doors After 113 Years'', The Daily Press, Newport News, VA - November 25, 1998
/ref> At the time, it had 150 employees and 20 stores, including one at

Peninsula Town Center Peninsula Town Center is an open air mixed-use development located in the Coliseum Central Business improvement district of Hampton, Virginia in the Hampton Roads region. The Town Center is located on the site of the original Coliseum Mall, an en ...

and another at

Patrick Henry Mall Patrick Henry Mall is a shopping mall in Newport News, Virginia. It is located on Interstate 64 Westbound and Jefferson Ave (Virginia State Route 143) at exit 255A. The mall is anchored by Dillard's, Dick's Sporting Goods, J. C. Penney and Macy ...

References

External links

1995 status
Defunct retail companies of the United States Companies based in Norfolk, Virginia Defunct companies based in Virginia {{Virginia-stub