Nahas (pronounced Nay-haz) was a chain of department stores owned by A. S Nahas, operating in
Greater Los Angeles
Greater Los Angeles is the second-largest metropolitan region in the United States with a population of 18.5 million in 2021, encompassing five counties in Southern California extending from Ventura County in the west to San Bernardino Coun ...
, carrying clothing, household goods and electronics. They also acquired Rathbun's department store at 5311 Lankershim Blvd. in
North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
and cobranded it "Nahas Rathbuns" before the branch closed in 1980. The remaining Nahas stores closed in 1981–2.
The Nahas chain originated as a partnership between Mr. A. S. Nahas and Donald R. Nuss in 1951. In 1970 the company was incorporated. Mr. Nahas died December 13, 1970. As of 1974 Mr. Nuss was the CEO.
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]
Branches
The order of opening of the first eight stores is documented as follows:
*1-2. Burbank, 1611 Verdugo Ave., one of the first two stores opened, in 1953, remodeled in 1958[
*1-2. ]Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
, one of the first two stores opened, in 1953[
*3. Gardena, 1250 W. Redondo Beach Blvd., third store, opened in 1954][
*4. ]Panorama City
Panorama City is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California, in the San Fernando Valley. It has a generally young age range as well as the highest population density in the Valley. Ethnically, more than half of its population was born a ...
/"Pacoima" (Nahas referred to this branch as "Pacoima"; it has also been reported as "Panorama City", which is the neighborhood to which the address corresponds today), 9035 Woodman Ave., Woodman Square shopping center, fourth store, opened 1955
*5. Sherman Oaks
Sherman Oaks is a neighborhood in the city of Los Angeles, California located in the San Fernando Valley, founded in 1927. The neighborhood includes a portion of the Santa Monica Mountains, which gives Sherman Oaks a lower population density than ...
, 4520 Van Nuys Blvd., fifth store, , opened in 1958-9
*6. Long Beach
Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California.
Incorporate ...
, 3008 Bellflower Blvd., , sixth store, opened in 1960, E. H. Reid - store manager at opening[
*7. ]La Habra
La Habra (archaic spelling of ''La Abra'', ) is a city in the northwestern corner of Orange County, California, United States. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 60,239. A related city, La Habra Heights, is located to the north of ...
, La Habra Square shopping center, 2131 W. Central Av. (now La Habra Blvd.), , current site of Costco, opened ca. March 1961, the chain's seventh store, [“New Nahas Department Store Opens at La Habra Location in Mid-March”, ''La Habra Star'', Number 81, 22 February 1961]
/ref>
*8. Granada Hills, North Valley Plaza Shopping Center, Chatsworth St. at Balboa Blvd., eighth store, opened 1962[
*9. ]La Crescenta
La Crescenta-Montrose () is an unincorporated area in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, California, United States. The community is bordered by Glendale, California, Glendale to the south and west, La Cañada Flintridge, Calif ...
, 2651 Foothill Blvd., opened before Tustin branch
*10.Tustin
Tustin is a city located in Orange County, California, in the Los Angeles metropolitan area. In 2020, Tustin had a population of 80,276. The city is located next to the county seat, Santa Ana, California, Santa Ana, and does not include the un ...
, Tustin Heights Shopping Center, 1134 Irvine Drive at Fourth, , tenth store, opened December 2, 1965, closed 1981
Later advertisements promote these additional following branches:
* Hanford, Kings Mall Shopping Center
*Irvine Irvine may refer to:
Places On Earth Antarctica
*Irvine Glacier
*Mount Irvine (Antarctica)
Australia
*Irvine Island
*Mount Irvine, New South Wales
Canada
*Irvine, Alberta
* Irvine Inlet, Nunavut
United Kingdom
*Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotla ...
, 14280 Culver Drive
*North Hollywood
North Hollywood is a neighborhood of Los Angeles, California, located in the San Fernando Valley. The neighborhood contains the NoHo Arts District, the El Portal Theatre, several art galleries, and the Academy of TV Arts and Sciences. The North ...
(orig. Rathbun's, acquired around 1971), 5311 Lankershim Blvd.
*Rancho Bernardo, San Diego
Rancho Bernardo is a master-planned community in the northern hills of the city of San Diego, California.
Geography
The topography of Rancho Bernardo consists of canyons and rolling hills that have large bedrock outcroppings. The major floral bio ...
, 11965 Bernardo Plaza Dr., (was reported as being under construction in 1974)
* Santa Barbara branded Trenwiths, after acquisition of that store[
* Santa Susana/]Simi Valley
Simi Valley (; Chumash: ''Shimiyi'') is a city in the valley of the same name in the southeast region of Ventura County, California, United States. Simi Valley is from Downtown Los Angeles, making it part of the Greater Los Angeles Area. The ...
, 2242 Tapo St.
*Thousand Oaks
Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, United States. It is in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles, approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown. It is named after the many oak tree ...
, originally 316 N. Moorpark Rd., relocated to a store in Conejo Valley Plaza in 1979
*Van Nuys
Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley.
History
In 1909, t ...
, 6609 Van Nuys Blvd., originally Butler Bros. Department Store (founded 1951), acquired 1974
A. S. Nahas
Mr. Abe (or "Abraham" as listed in the 1910 census)[Family Research]
/ref> Salem Nahas was born in Tripoli
Tripoli or Tripolis may refer to:
Cities and other geographic units Greece
*Tripoli, Greece, the capital of Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (region of Arcadia), a district in ancient Arcadia, Greece
* Tripolis (Larisaia), an ancient Greek city in ...
, then in Ottoman Syria
Ottoman Syria ( ar, سوريا العثمانية) refers to divisions of the Ottoman Empire within the region of Syria, usually defined as being east of the Mediterranean Sea, west of the Euphrates River, north of the Arabian Desert and south ...
, now Lebanon
Lebanon ( , ar, لُبْنَان, translit=lubnān, ), officially the Republic of Lebanon () or the Lebanese Republic, is a country in Western Asia. It is located between Syria to the north and east and Israel to the south, while Cyprus li ...
, on August 16, 1895 (as reported on his WWII draft card, 1920 census, and obituary)[World War I draft registration card for Abe Nahas via familysearch.org]
/ref> to Selami and Mary Nahas. Young Abraham emigrated to the United States at age 5 with his parents and siblings George, Elsie and Edna,[ and the family settled in San Francisco. Shortly after the ]1906 San Francisco Earthquake
At 05:12 Pacific Standard Time on Wednesday, April 18, 1906, the coast of Northern California was struck by a major earthquake with an estimated moment magnitude of 7.9 and a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (''Extreme''). High-intensity sha ...
the family moved to Los Angeles. In 1910, the family was registered on Holmes Avenue in San Antonio Township, Florence Precinct, in what is now referred to as Florence, California
Florence is an unincorporated community in California. It is often considered part of South Los Angeles despite being outside the Los Angeles city limits. It is serviced by area code 323 and has a ZIP Code of 90001. It is the northern part of ...
, an unincorporated area adjacent to South Los Angeles
South Los Angeles, also known as South Central Los Angeles or simply South Central, is a region in southwestern Los Angeles County, lying mostly within the city limits of Los Angeles, south of downtown.
It is "defined on Los Angeles city maps as ...
.[ At age 22, Nahas was an escrow clerk at an insurance and trust company at 5th and Spring and lived at 784 E. Washington Blvd. in what is now southeastern ]Downtown Los Angeles
Downtown Los Angeles (DTLA) contains the central business district of Los Angeles. In addition, it contains a diverse residential area of some 85,000 people, and covers . A 2013 study found that the district is home to over 500,000 jobs. It is ...
. He was described as short, of medium build, with blue eyes and dark brown hair.[
Nahas married Edith Rector in 1918 and had two daughters, Virginia and Lorraine. He was a ]Mason
Mason may refer to:
Occupations
* Mason, brick mason, or bricklayer, a craftsman who lays bricks to construct brickwork, or who lays any combination of stones, bricks, cinder blocks, or similar pieces
* Stone mason, a craftsman in the stone-cut ...
.[
Nahas started working in retail in 1918 and became the manager of the Woolworth ]five and dime
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 us ...
s in Prescott, Arizona
Prescott ( ) is a city in Yavapai County, Arizona, United States. According to the 2020 Census, the city's population was 45,827. The city is the county seat of Yavapai County.
In 1864, Prescott was designated as the capital of the Arizona T ...
(where he resided during the 1920 census), Santa Rosa, California
Santa Rosa (Spanish language, Spanish for "Rose of Lima, Saint Rose") is a city and the county seat of Sonoma County, California, Sonoma County, in the North Bay (San Francisco Bay Area), North Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, Bay Area ...
and Hollywood
Hollywood usually refers to:
* Hollywood, Los Angeles, a neighborhood in California
* Hollywood, a metonym for the cinema of the United States
Hollywood may also refer to:
Places United States
* Hollywood District (disambiguation)
* Hollywood, ...
. In 1937 he became a partner in a department store chain, and in 1939 was managing a five and ten cent store at 6410 Hollywood Boulevard
Hollywood Boulevard is a major east–west street in Los Angeles, California. It begins in the east at Sunset Boulevard in the Los Feliz district and proceeds to the west as a major thoroughfare through Little Armenia and Thai Town, Hollywoo ...
when burglars broke in and stole a small safe with $1200 in cash inside.[ His WWII draft card shows Abe and Edith Nahas living at 753 1/2 N. Croft Ave. in Hollywood at that time and his employer as Woolworth's.
Nahas later founded Nahas department stores as a partnership with Donald Nuss in 1951.][ The Nahases had a home in Newport Beach, featured in the '']Los Angeles Times
The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...
'' in 1958, stretching 110 feet along the breakwater, designed by architect Herbert Brownell
Herbert Brownell Jr. (February 20, 1904 – May 1, 1996) was an American lawyer and Republican politician. From 1953 to 1957, he served as United States Attorney General in the administration of President Dwight D. Eisenhower.
Early life
Browne ...
. The home had a panorama wall of glass providing an ocean view. In 1966, Nahas opened Toluca Villa, a 42-unit, 3-story apartment complex at 10240 Camarillo St., in North Hollywood.
Nahas died December 13, 1970.[
]
References
{{History of Retail in Southern California
Defunct department stores based in Greater Los Angeles
San Fernando Valley
Nahas, A