1852 - George and Samuel Shreve opened small jewelry shop at corner of Montgomery and Clay streets in San Franciscxo, CA (above in 1875)

1845 - Howard Mellus formed partnership with William Davis Merry Howard (former clerk, trading hides and tallow, for Abel Stearns, merchant at Los Angeles); 1846  - acquired  Hudson's Bay Company property (two-story wooden buiulding) on Montgomery street (at water's edge, San Francisco's tallest building); 1848 - Mellus & William Davis Merry Howard built on the southwest corner of Clay and Montgomery Street, first brick building in San Francisco, and transferred their business to this store; 1850 -  Howard purchased his partner's interests.

1851- Kalman Haas and Leopold Loupe began Loupe & Haas, general-store variety of business, on corner of Davis and California streets in San Francisco; 1865 - Loupe left business; brothers, cousins joined company; William Haas (cousin) became active manager of firm; name changed to Haas Brothers Wholesale Groceries; 1897 - William Haas became first president, company incorporated; major portion of business derived from selling liquor to miners in California, Nevada, Alaska; 1916 - Haas's son became president; sister married Samuel Lilienthal (son of Ernest Reuben Lilienthal, founder of Crown Distilleries Company in 1872); grocery operations of Haas Brothers combined with liquor operations of Crown Distilleries; 1927 - Samuel Lilienthal became company's president; 1954 - Haas Brothers closed grocery business; became premium wholesale liquor distributor.

1851 - Bavarian publisher and book dealer, Anton Roman, struck gold in Shasta City, CA; established bookstore on Montgomery Street, San Francisco; moved, bought, sold, burned, rebuilt; July 1868 - launched Overland Monthly (Bret Harte, editor), regional literary magazine (West Coast's Atlantic Monthly) with advertising, original news, fiction, poetry by Western writers only (early circulation of 3,000); 1946 - renamed Books Inc. by Lew Lengfeld; early 1970s - 26 stores along West Coast; 1996 - Lengfeld died, left company (2 stores) to employees; filed Chapter 11 bankruptcy in effort to restructure, save company; August 1997 - emerged from Chapter 11, under ownership of Michael Grant, Michael Tucker (4 stores); 1998 - added 5th store; 2007 - 11 stores, over 200 employees; West's oldest independent bookseller.

1852 - George and Samuel Shreve opened small jewelry shop, The Shreve Jewelry Store, at corner of Montgomery and Clay Streets, San Francisco, CA; sold wide range of European fancy goods, California-manufactured jewelry; launched design, manufacture of fine quality silver; 1894 - incorporated as Shreve & Co., George Rodman (George Shreve's son) as president, partner Albert J. Lewis as majority stockholder; 1912 - acquired by George Lewis (Albert's son); 1948 - acquired by Hickingbotham family; 1967 - acquired by Dayton-Hudson Corporation.

1853 - Frank D. Bullock, John Luther Jones became haberdashers to San Francisco gentlemen of newfound wealth; emphasis on luxury fabrics, finest in tailoring; 1982 - started catalog (about $20 million in sales); August 1998 - acquired by Saks Fifth Avenue for $25 million; 2000 - closed; September 2001 -  acquired by Eric  Goodwill (son of former owner Sidney Goodwill), Spencer Hays (chairman of Individualized Apparel Group, clothing manufacturer).

March 1853 - Bavarian immigrant Levi Strauss founded a wholesale dry goods merchant; 1863 - named Levi Strauss & Co.; 1869 - Jacob W. Davis (born Jacob Youphes from Riga, now capital of Latvia), a  Reno, NV tailor made wagon covers and tents with Levi Strauss & Co.'s off- white cotton duck cloth; 1871 - routinely used copper rivets to strengthen duck pants for miners, then used denim; May 20, 1873 - Davis received a patent  for "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings" ("employment of a metal rivet or eyelet at each edge of the pocket-opening, to prevent the ripping of the seam at those points");  reinforced pocket openings of miners' pants ("waist overalls") with metal rivets;  assigned half of patent to Levi Strauss & Co.; Davis in charge of manufacturing when Levi Strauss & Co. opened two San Francisco factories; 1873 - first copper riveted clothing made and sold; used denim material from Amoskeag Manufacturing Co. (Manchester, NH); 1891 - patent expired, Levi Strauss & Co. had been only company making riveted denim clothing; dozens of garment manufacturers began to imitate the original riveted clothing; December 4, 1928 - Levi Strauss & Co. registered "Levi's" trademark first used April 14, 1927 (overalls).

1861 - David Hausemann founded business to manufacture mirrors, mantels and fine wood work and to import European paintings and art novelties; 1863 - Solomon Gump (brother-in-law) acquired an interest, 1864 - acquired entire business; 1871 - Gustave Gump (brother) joined company, renamed S. & G. Gump; 1906 - Abraham Livingston ("A. L.") Gump (son) took over as head of business;   established company as leading dealer in Asian art, antiquities on West Coast;  March 1947 - Richard Benjamin Gump (43, grandson), artist and entrepreneur, assumed control; February 8, 1949 - registered "Gump's" trademark first used April 22, 1919 (bracelets, brooches, earrings, necklaces, and finger rings made of gold and silver, solid and plated hollow ware); July 10, 1989 - acquired from Macmillan by Charterhouse Group International, Tobu Department Store Co. fro $32.75 million; May 1993 - acquired by Hanover Direct Inc. (formerly Horn & Hardart) for $13.2 million;  2005 - acquired by   Gump's Holdings, LLC (venture capital firms WaldenVC, Stone Canyon Venture Partners, private investment firm Sand Springs Holdings) for $8.5 million; oldest continuously operating gallery in northern California.

1870 - Leander Sherman founded Sherman Clay music store in San Francisco, CA; sold music, musical instruments; manufacturers representative for several organ companies (Aeolian, Estey, Kimball); 1892 - authorized as Steinway dealer.

1873 - George A. Ralphs established grocery store at store at Sixth and Spring Streets in Los Angeles, CA; Walter Ralphs (brother) joined; ran Ralphs Bros. Grocers; 1909 - incorporated as Ralphs Grocery Company; 1928 - 10 stores; 1930s - 25 stores, began featuring bakeries and creameries; 1940s - introduced delicatessens, other in-store conveniences; 1950s - over 100 stores; 1968 - acquired by Federated Department Stores for $60 million; among first to introduce checkout stations with laser price scanners; 1994 - merged with Food-4-Less; 1997 - oldest, most recognized chain west of Mississippi; merged with Fred Meyer, Inc.; 1999 - Meyer merged with The Kroger Company; largest food retailer in Southern California; over 440 stores. 

May 20, 1873 - Jacob W. Davis, a  Reno, NV tailor, received a U.S. patent on a rivet process for "Improvement in Fastening Pocket-Openings", strengthening the pocket openings of miners' pants ("waist overalls"); assigned half patent to himself, half to Levi Strauss, as his business partner; Davis was in charge of manufacturing when Levi Strauss & Co. opened its two San Francisco factories; 1873 - first copper riveted clothing made and sold; May 20, 1874 - Levi Strauss began marketing blue jeans with copper rivets; 1891 - patent expired, Levi Strauss & Co. had been only company making riveted denim clothing; dozens of garment manufacturers began to imitate the original riveted clothing.

1876 - Simon Levi joined Samuel Steiner (uncle), Abraham Klauber in San Diego, CA; formed Steiner, Klauber & Company (Klauber had opened The Sacramento Store, A. Klauber & Co. in May 1853 in Volcano, CA, fifty miles east of Sacramento, as general merchandise store; delivered goods to any mining camp in the area at no additional charge; opened general merchandise business in 1869 with Samuel Steiner in a twenty-five by sixty foot area of a one story-and-a-half frame structure in San Diego, CA; delivered goods to the people of San Diego in horse-drawn wagon; ran first advertisement on March 31, 1870); September 28, 1883 - renamed Klauber & Levi; February 1897 - renamed  Klauber Wangenheim Company (Julius Wangenheim, son of San Francisco grocer, boyhood friend of Melville Klauber [eldest son] had invested $25,000 in company); 1916 - business became strictly wholesale (sold liquor license, last vestige of the retail operation); 1950s - independent retail grocers acquired by growing supermarket chains, spelled demise of independent retail grocer; company shifted to institutional "food service" orientation (schools, restaurants, hospitals, bakeries); national food distributors cut sharply into the food service market; October 1980 - company closed merchandise operations, shifted  assets into securities and real estate; 1981 - became an investment company, auctioned remnants of its merchandise operation.

1877 - Mary Ann Cohen Magnin, accomplished seamstress and lace maker, opened department store in San Francisco (named for husband, Isaac Magnin, former wood carver, gilder in picture-framing shop in London); successfully promoted 'salon' concept of retailing (no racks, couches for customers, saleswomen brought dresses on hangers) 1948 - opened in Timothy Pflueger-designed "The Marble Lady" at Stockton and Geary Streets in San Francisco (now Macy's); 1944 - merged with Bullock's; 1964 - acquired by Federated Department Stores; January 15, 1995 - business ceased.

1880 - Everett Wilber Hale, Prentiss Cobb Hale founded The Criterion, dry goods business, in Sacramento, CA; name changed to Hale Bros.; 1898 - incorporated; 1950 - merged Broadway Stores, formed Broadway-Hale Stores; 1965 - West's largest department-store group (1964 sales of $219 million); 1974 - name changed to Carter Hawley Hale.

1881 - James McQuaid established "mercantile", general store in Oakville, CA, directly across from railroad depot; center of commerce, only place to find essentials for daily living (telegraph, mail and telephone, fresh eggs, bread, barbed wire, kerosene); 1978 - acquired by Napa Valley vintner Joseph Phelps (Joseph Phelps Vineyards) and Steve Carlin; March 2003 - acquired by J. M. Ciaran Byrne (Woodside Capital) and group of investors; March 28, 2007 - acquired by Leslie Rudd, CEO of dean & DeLuca.

1882 - Giovanni Beltramo, from Castel Nuovo di Don Bosco in the province of Asti, Italy, established a wholesale-retail wine and spirits business in Menlo Park, CA; mid-1960s - John R. and Daniel Beltramo (grandsons) took over.

1883 - Frank Allen and established Allen & Tuggle Lumber Company in San Francisco, CA; 1885 - destroyed by fire; half interest acquired by James E. Higgins, Sr., formed Allen and Higgins Lumber Company with post-fire remains (approximately five rail cars of hardwood lumber); 1901 - Higgins assumed leadership (Allen's death); April 18, 1906 - destroyed in earthquake; April 22, 1906 - reopened, supplied some of materials needed to rebuild City; 1911 - Higgins acquired Allen’s interest in company, changed name to J. E. Higgins Lumber Company; 1922 - James Edwin Higgins, Jr. took over; grew company through increased market share, acquisition; largest dealer of hardwood west of the Mississippi River and the largest dealer in Philippine hardwoods in United States; 1961 - James W. Higgins, John M. Higgins (nephews) elected President, Vice President, respectively; August 19, 1969 - fire destroyed half of timber inventory; 1974 - Harry S. Anthony (son-in-law of James E. Higgins, Jr.) selected President; 1993 - Jonathan R. Long (son-in-law of James W. Higgins) named President; strengthened core business (buy, sell lumber, plywood, industry-associated products to cabinet trade customers), positioned company geographically (capitalize on effectiveness of distribution network).

1886 - Sigmund “Sig” Steiner (former clerk at Steiner, Klauber & Co., uncle’s mercantile firm), P.A. Graham opened first grocery store in one-story, wood-frame building in Escondido, CA; converted into a department store-type of business; 1903 - Graham’s interest acquired by Steiner, renamed Steiner and Co.; 1908 - started Grape Day to honor the crop of muscat grapes, praised for sweetness by horticultural report.

1888 - Frank Marini, John B. Perata and Virgil Valente established Valente Marini Perata & Co. funeral service in San Francisco's burgeoning North Beach district to serve growing population of immigrants who arrived at end of 19th century; 1906 - horse-drawn livery and transport wagons served double duty as emergency rescue vehicles during earthquake; 2007 - fifth generation of being family owned, operated.

1889 - Drewes Brothers opened butcher shop in Noe Valley, San Francisco, CA; 1998 - acquired by fourth owners, Josh and Isaac Epple; thought to be oldest operating butcher shop in California.

1892 - J.C. Pedersen, Danish immigrant and cabinet maker, opened first Pedersen Furniture company at corner of Fourth and A Streets in Santa Rosa, CA (population 6,000); four generations of Pedersen family have owned, operated company.

1892 - Cherin’s is managed by three generations of Cherin family.,

Late 1892 - Fred Gazlay (formerly of Western Metal Supply), John M. Wood (formerly of Hamilton Hardware), George M. Hawley, George T. Hawley (both formerly with Todd & Hawley) acquired retail store of Todd & Hawley on 5th Avenue in San Diego, CA, opened San Diego Hardware Company; carried traditional hardware of that era (washboards, wood stoves, ice boxes, sporting goods, Winchester firearms); began dealing exclusively in fine decorative hardware and plumbing; became one of largest, most respected dealers of quality decorative hardware in country; oldest family-owned business in San Diego, 10th oldest business in San Diego.

November 14, 1894 - Adam Clark Vroman, J.S. Glasscock opened book, photographic supply store at 60 E Colorado Street, Pasadena, CA; specialized in scenes of American West, portraits of Native Americans; for many years - largest bookstore west of the Mississippi; still largest independent bookstore in Southern California. 

1894 - Frank Duarte brought barrel of whiskey from Santa Cruz to establishment in Pescadero, CA; price was ten cents for one whiskey, two bits for three; business thrived until prohibition; 1934 - second generation reopened bar; 1950s - third generation joined; 1961 - widow took over; mid-1980s - fourth generation arrived; May 2003 - James Beard Foundation awarded Duarte's honorary award as American Classic (one of five restaurants in United States honored); 2007 - serve average of 13,000 people a month; have grown from two employees in the fifties to sixty-five; extensive menu focused on artichoke dishes, fresh fish, wine list of over two hundred different labels.

1896 - Arthur Letts, Sr. founded The Broadway, mid-level department store chain in Los Angeles, CA; 1950 - merged with Hale Brothers, formed Broadway-Hale Stores with Edward W. Carter as president (former president of The Broadway); 1972 - acquired Bergdorf Goodman, Holt Renfrew (Montreal, QU); 1974 - name changed to Carter Hawley Hale Stores, Inc. (reflected contributions from Carter, Philip Hawley - with company since 1958); 1977 - attempted hostile takeover of Marshall Field's; April 1978 - acquired John Wanamaker's (Philadelphia); 1984 - sixth largest department store chain in United States; takeover attempted by The Limited; 1986 - second takeover attempted by The Limited; 1985 - sold Waldenbooks to Kmart; April 1986 - sold Holt Renfrew to Weston Family; January 1987 - sold Wanamaker's to Woodward & Lothrop; spun off splitting off specialty store business as Neiman-Marcus Group, Inc. (Neiman-Marcus, Bergdorf Goodman, Contempo Casuals stores); 1991 - filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection; 1992 - Zell/Chilmark Fund completed reorganization, renamed Broadway Stores, Inc.; August 1995 - acquired by Federated Department Stores (dissolved in 1996).

1899 - Edward and Leonard McRoskey of St. Louis and Chicago, brought mattress making equipment to California to sell, made mattresses instead; 1930s - Leonard and Robert (Edward's sons) joined company; 2007 - Robin McRoskey Azevedo (Robert's daughter) is President; made by hand.

1902 - Shojiro Tatsuno (30) opened first Nichi Bei Bussan store on Dupont St. in San Francisco (now Grant Ave. in Chinatown); carried American goods, catered to immigrant Japanese population; April 7, 1942 - closed due to Japanese internment during WW II; July 15, 1946 - re-opened on Buchanan St. in San Francisco; July 11, 1948 - San Jose branch of newly-renamed "N.B. Department Stores" opened in Japantown in "Valley of Heart's Delight", now known as "Silicon Valley"; 1997 - San Francisco store closed with passing of Masateru "Tut" Tatsuno (Shojiro's younger son).

1902 - Harry Best, landscape painter and political cartoonist for the San Francisco Chronicle, Anne Rippey (new wife) opened studio business in tent in Yosemite Valley; 1904 - built original Best Studio in Old Yosemite Village; produced, sold paintings, painted photographs,  photo finishing; January 2, 1928 - Virginia Best (daughter) married Ansel Adams; 1936 - Virginia inherited business; shifted focus, offered merchandise and services that fit with ethic to respect landscape, draw inspiration and creativity from beauty of environment; 1940 - The Photography Workshop program began, one of first photographic education programs in  country; 1971 - Michael and Jeanne Adams (son, daughter-in-law) took over; name changed to The Ansel Adams Gallery, to reflect primary focus of photography, powerful legacy that Ansel had in photography, environmental conservation; oldest family-owned, operated concession in National Park System.

1905 - Robert James Wisnom, William Wisnom, Robert Bonner opened Wisnom-Bonner Hardware, friendly general merchandise store, on the corner of Second Avenue and Ellsworth in San Mateo, CA; sold hammers and nails, nuts and bolts, horseshoe nails and barbed wire; 1920s - acquired Dodge dealership; sold, serviced cars, trucks; sold ladders, nail kegs, kerosene, thinners, other supplies; 1925 - partnership dissolved, name changed to Wisnom Hardware; 1940s - added record department, sold 78 rpm records; installed listening booth; 1980s - Robert F. and John D. Wisnom (Robert's sons) joined company; merchandise expanded, included housewares, cookware, garden tools, pet supplies, giftware, fireplace shop; 2007 - Suzi Wisnom (granddaughter, John D.'s daughter), Dick Nelson (her husband) own, operate store.

1906 - Tokutaro Takahashi, Issei immigrant, started Takahashi Market to San Francisco Bay Area community; specializies in Japanese and Hawaiian food items, stocks Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai foods.

1906 - Charles Von der Ahe, with $1,200 in savings, opened 20-foot wide Von's Groceteria on corner of 7th and Figueroa in Los Angeles, CA; pioneered "cash and carry" alternative to "charge and delivery"; 1928 - 87 stores; 1929 - acquired by McMarr Stores (acquired by M.B. Skaggs's Safeway in 1930); 1933 - Ted and Will Von der Ahe (sons) re-started business, founded Von's Grocery Company; 1948 - opened ambitious store at corner of Santa Barbara and Crenshaw, offered some of first self-service produce, meat, deli departments (pre-packaged perishables); marked advent of true supermarkets; 1969 - acquired by Household Finance Corporation (became part of Household Merchandising Division); 1970s - 159 stores with 16,000 employees, #1 grocery retailer in Southern California; January 1986 - Merchandising Division acquired by management in leveraged buyout valued at $757 million; merged with Allied Supermarkets (Detroit, MI) in $700 million deal, sold assets outside California, launched Pavilions "combination store" concept (food and nonfood sections) subchain; 1987 - went public; 1988 - acquired most of Safeway stores in southern California, southern Nevada in exchange for 35% minority equity position; April 1997 - 65% balance acquired by Safeway for $2.5 billion; 2009 - 325 stores; second largest retail supermarket chain in southern California.

September 1906 - Maurice Moskovitz, 5'2'', founded Rochester Big and Tall in San Francisco as a working man's store to help rebuild the city after the city's April 18, 1906 earthquake; offered brand-name merchandise to the big and tall man (usual minimum: 40" waist, 6'2'', or unusual arm, leg, foot fits); 2006 - over 20 worldwide locations, catalog/ecommerce division. 

March 2, 1907 - John Gillespie Bullock (36), Percy Glen Winnett opened Bullock's in Los Angeles; backed by former employer, Arthur Letts, English-born merchant whose dry goods store at Broadway and 4th Street became The Broadway Store; 1912 - erected 10-story building on Broadway; 1944 - merged with I. Magnin (twelve stores blanketing the West Coast, 1943 combined sales of $63,000,000 [three-quarters of whic is Bullock's], profits of $2,600,000); 1964 - acquired by Federated Department Stores.

1914 - Sam Seelig founded Seelig Grocers, chain of 4 stores in CA; 1915 - Marion B. Skaggas (27) acquired his father's grocery store (18 x 32 feet), Skaggs Cash Stores, in American Falls, ID; 1919 - Skaggs brothers formed partnership named Skaggs United Stores; 1925 - Seelig changed name to Safeway Stores; July 14, 1925 - Safeway Stores, Incorporated registered “Safeway” trademark first used February 16, 1925 (matches); 1926 - Skaggs United Stores (673 stores) merged with Safeway (322 stores), formed Skaggs Safeway, changed to Safeway Stores Inc., incorporated in Maryland, Maron B. Skaggs first president; 1928 - more than 2,000 stores; 1928 - went public; 1971- world’s largest food retailer; 1982 - taken private in leveraged buyout by Kohlberg Kravis Roberts; 1990 - went public again as Safeway Inc.

1922 - George Bailey established hat company, emphasized importance of professionally crafted hat; popularized fedoras, godfathers, derby hats; March 23, 1948 - George S. Bailey Hat Company, Inc. registered "Balance Blocked in California by Geo. S. Bailey" trademark first used April 16, 1946 (men's hats); evolved from fine dress headwear to include Western and Outdoor collection.

1923 - John W. Stacey, skilled botanist and bookseller, quit Emporium book department, opened 216 square foot store in Flood Building on Market Street, San Francisco; 400 books on 240 feet of shelves, Stacey as lone employee; specializing in medical books; 1946 - began to carry comprehensive line of technical and professional titles, including the first computer books ever published; 1959 - second store opened; 1968 - acquired by Brodart company; March 2009 - closed.

December 4, 1928 - Levi Strauss & Co. registered "Levi's" trademark first used April 14, 1927 (jeans).

March 1, 1931 - Thirty farmers, mostly prune growers, considered buying their farm supplies as a cooperative, put up $30 each, created Orchard Supply a rented warehouse on Bassett Street, San Jose, CA; 1950s - no longer qualified as a cooperative as electronics industry developed, orchards became residential areas, many farmers retired; retail business name changed to Orchard Supply Hardware; 1962 - Albert B. Smith became president; 2004 - OSH is 84 stores strong with locations in California from Redding in the north to Laguna Niguel in the south.

February 1932 - Hugh H. Bridgford (1908-1992) opened retail meat market in San Diego, CA; evolved first into several retail meat markets, then meat wholesaling to hotels and restaurants, frozen food distribution, meat packing, frozen food manufacturing; 1962 - pioneered manufacture, sale of frozen bread dough to supermarkets; Bridgford Foods Corporation employs 675 people, sells products in all 50 states, Canada, several overseas mark; approximately 2,000 shareholders; Bridgford family controls approximately 75% of common stock; nine members of family employed in management positions.

February 16, 1935 - Tom Raley, former employee of ice and cold storage company and Safeway, opened Raley's supermarket on Main Street in Placerville, CA with $9,000, clerk, butcher; 1958 - opened nation’s first grocery store-drug store combination (superstore); 1992 - acquired Bel Air Markets (founded by Gim Wong near Sacramento, CA in 1930s); 1994 - opened first Food Source warehouse format store in Folsom, CA; 1998 - acquired Nob Hill Foods chain; 2010 - 11th largest private company in California (owns, operates 85 Raley’s, 21 Bel Air Markets, 22 Nob Hill Foods supermarkets, 5 Food Source stores (133 stores),

August 17, 1936 - Cleo and Leo Stater opened Stater Bros. Market (had purchased small grocery store on West Yucaipa Boulevard in Yucaipa, CA, with $600 down payment); 1940s - Lavoy Stater ( younger brother) joined; business expanded to 12 locations, 225 employees; 1950s - 23 locations in three counties of San Bernardino, Riverside, Los Angeles; 1960 - began construction division;  1970s - 83 Supermarkets;  1979 - introduced scanning; 1980 - largest calendar year of growth, opened 10 Supermarkets; 1999 - acquired 43 additional Supermarket locations;  2005 - made "Fortune 500" list for first time, only Inland Empire headquartered company to make list; October 24, 2007 - opened Corporate Offices, 2.1 million sq. ft. Distribution Center (largest under-one-roof supermarket distribution center in America, serve more than 160 markets throughout Southland); 2008 - sales of $3.74 billion; largest privately owned Supermarket Chain in Southern California; largest employer, No. 1 Supermarket Chain in Inland Empire area of Southern California (San Bernardino, Riverside Counties); 166 Full Service Supermarkets in six Southern California counties.

1938 - Joseph M. and Thomas J. (son-in-law of Marion B. Skaggs, co-founder of Safeway Stores) Long opened Longs Self-Service Drug on Piedmont Avenue in Oakland, CA; introduced idea of self-service in retail drug industry.

July 1945 - Macy's acquired O'Connor, Moffatt & Co. (founded 1866 as O'Connor, Moffat, Kean Co. at Second & Market Streets; name changed in 1928) at 101 Stockton St.  (eight-story-and-basement building at Stockton and O'Farrell streets, block off San Francisco's shopping triangle, plus valuable adjoining frontage on nearby Union Square); October 16, 1947 - renamed Macy's San Francisco; 1948 - store at 170 O'Farrell Street expanded; 1984 - acquired four complementary locations from Liberty House, including Liberty House's own O'Farrell & Stockton flagship built in 1974 (became Macy's Men's Store).

1949 - Mervin Morris opened family store in San Lorenzo, CA; used first name to distinguish it from his father's Morris Department Store.; architect spelled name with a "y", explained it gave name more aesthetically pleasing appearance; invented mid-range department store; first to offer customers revolving credit, advertise sales in newspaper, focus on young families; April 12, 1977 - registered "Mervyn's" trademark first used June 16, 1954 (retail department store services); 2007 - 177 stores.

December 19, 1950 - Rose Marie Reid, of Los Angeles, CA, received a U.S. patent for a "Garment" ("embodying a novel construction for causing it to snugly fit the body of a wearer in a flattering manner" using elastic fabric"); one-piece bathing suit.

1956 - Chuck Williams bought hardware store in Sonoma, CA, stocked shelves with cookware (copper sauté pans, huge stockpots, high-quality vegetable peelers, Sabatier knives, French kitchen towels), named Williams-Sonoma; 1958 - moved the store to San Francisco, stocked it with wide variety of French supplies; 1971 - produced first store catalog; 1978 - acquired by W. Howard Lester, former computer software executive, James McMahan; 1983 - went public; 1986 - acquired Pottery Barn chain of stores from The Gap; 1992 - joins with Time-Life Books, created series of Williams-Sonoma Kitchen Library cookbooks; grew into premier specialty retailer of home furnishings; 2007 - 250 Williams-Sonoma stores, Pottery Barn, Hold Everything, Pottery Barn Kids, West Elm, and others.

1956 - Dr. Forrest C. Shaklee, Sr. founded Shaklee Products with his sons Forrest, Jr., and Raleigh to produce and sell nutritional supplements; founding philosophy of the Golden Rule and In Harmony with Nature®; more than 45 patents and patents-pending worldwide, operates in Canada, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico and the U.S., has over 700,000 members worldwide.

October 23, 1958 - William Amthor, operator of family-owned furniture store, opened first "Cost Plus" store on Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, CA; devoted exclusively to imported merchandise, imported wicker; named for pricing strategy, “cost plus 10 percent,” made clear to customers that prices would be affordable; 1987 - acquired in leveraged buyout by Bechtel Investments (later renamed Fremont Group); 1994 - control acquired by Goldman Sachs, International Nederland Capital Corp.; April 1996 - went public; 2008 - operated 299 stores in 34 states.

1959 - Moe and Barbara Moskowitz opened The Paperback Bookshop on Shattuck Avenue (Berkeley, CA). first store that offered fair price for paperbacks (assigning specific values to mass market paperbacks, trade softcover books, vs. buy by the pound - cash price for trade-ins was 30% of book's cover price or 50% of publication's value in merchandise); 1963 - moved shop to Telegraph Avenue, fast approaching nexus of Free Speech Movement, Vietnam protests, People's Park; early 1990s - one of earliest online bookstores, with Art and Antiquarian department. 

August 11, 1966 - Wilkes Bashford (33) opened luxury menswear store of the same name in downtown San Francisco.

1967 - Joe Coulombe, operator of chain of 18 Pronto Markets convenience stores in Los Angeles area, opened first Trader Joe's in Pasadena, CA; slowly converted Prontos Markets in demographically correct neighborhoods; 1979 - acquired by Karl and Theo Albrecht, German businessmen, owned Aldi supermarket chain in Europe, United States; 2007 - over 280 stores in more than 23 states.

1969 - Donald and Doris Fisher (40), real estate developer with no retail experience, opened first GAP store in northwest retail corner of El Rey theater building on Ocean Avenue and Fairfield Way in San Francisco (near San Francisco State University) to attract the rock 'n roll crowd and to close the generation gap; sold Levi jeans, record albums; 1970 - sales of $2 million; opened second store in San Jose; 1971 - sold Levis brand clothing exclusively; 1983 - acquired Banana Republic; 1986 - first GapKids store opened; 1987 - sales of $1 billion; 1990s - no longer carried Levis brand; 1992 - second largest selling apparel brand in world; 1994 - first Old Navy store opened; 1997 - Old Navy sales $1 billion in four years (retail record); 1998 - Banana Republic sales of $1 billion; 2006 - 3,000 stores, fiscal 2005 revenues of $16 billion; 2008 - second-largest clothing retailer in world.

1976 - Richard Thalheimer established Thalheimer Business Systems, sold copier supplies door-to-door to merchants in Financial District of San Francisco; 1977 - changed name to The Sharper Image; negotiated exclusive distribution rights to Seiko's Realtime Watch, billed as first affordable, waterproof, shock-resistant chronograph that could be reliably used by joggers; 1979 - introduced first Sharper Image mail-order catalog; 1981 - opened first Sharper Image store; September 29, 1981 - Thalheimer Company (dba The Sharper Image Corporation) registered "The Sharper Image" trademark first used August 1, 1976 (retail store and mail-order services-namely, gifts and personal accessories); 1991 - opened design lab to produce high-margin items company could produce itself; September 5, 2000 - registered "Ionic Breeze" trademark first used August 8, 1998 (an ion producing air cleaner, namely, an electro-static precipitator for cleaning air) - biggest design lab seller; 2002 - Consumer Reports issued first of several "ineffective' rankings of Ionic Breeze; September 27, 2006 - new board named former Revlon chairman, former American Household Inc. CEO, Jerry W. Levin, chairman, interim CEO; Thalheimer ousted; May 2007 - Thalheimer 20% equity interest acquired for $26 million; February 19, 2008 - filed for bankruptcy protection (187 stores in 38 states).

July 12, 1976 - Sol and Robert Price opened Price Club on San Diego; first warehouse club for business shoppers; 1979 - 2 locations, 900 employees, 200,00 members, profit of $1 million; September 1983 - Jeff Brotman and Jim Sinegal opened first Costco warehouse in Seattle; 1984 - 9 Costcos in five states, 200,000 members; Price Club sales exceed $1 billion; 1986 - Price Club had 22 locations, 3.2 million members, 7,300 employees; Costco had 17 locations, 1.3 million members, 3,800 employees; 1989 - Price Club was 3rd most profitable U.S. company; 1992 - Costco opened 100th warehouse; September 1993 - Price Company merged with Costco, formed PriceCostco; 1995 - 200th location opened; 1997 - name officially changed to Costco Companies, Inc.; 1999 - average annual sales per warehouse reached $100 million; August 30, 1999 - name changed to Costco Wholesale Corporation; 2002 - 40.2 million Costco credit card holders, 98,000 employees; 2004 - 5th largest retailer in U.S., 11th largest retailer in world; 2006 - more than 500 warehouse stores worldwide, record sales of $58.96 billion; largest factor in warehouse market.

1978 - Mel and Patricia Ziegler opened first Banana Republic Travel and. Safari Clothing Company in Mill Valley, CA (Mel, San Francisco Chronicle reporter since 1973, had bought three British Burma jackets while on journalism assignment in Sydney, Australia; Patricia, former San Francisco Chronicle illustrator, restyled three jackets into one, used various parts to make necessary repairs, added elbow patches, horn buttons, wood buckle; friends, acquaintances liked "new" jacket, inquired about buying one; sold army surplus, as was or restyled, at flea markets; left the Chronicle in 1977); started with $1,500; sold stylish, rugged surplus goods at relatively low cost in store with walls decorated in zebra stripe, full-size, in-store giraffes, jungle jeeps poking through display windows to create image of jungle trading post (excitement, cultural connections); issued nontraditional catalogue to sell product to both men and women; 1983 - acquired by The Gap, Inc.; April 1988 - Zieglers resigned (110 stores, annual sales of $ quarter billion).

1979 - John Jeavons, dedicated organic gardener, asked Dave Smith, Paul Hawken to source  hand-forged gardening tools from England; 1982 - Smith & Hawken opened first retail store in Mill Valley, CA; December 3, 1985 - registered "Smith & Hawken" trademark first used November 1, 1984 (garden hand tools, namely, shovels, rakes, hose, cultivators, forks, spades, trowels, sickles, shears and pruners); 1993 - acquired by CML group; 1999 - acquired by private investor group; 2004 - acquired by The Scotts Miracle-Gro Company, leading supplier of consumer products for lawn, garden care; 2007 - 58 stores in 23 states.

September 2, 1980 - Levi Strauss & Co. registered back pocket design trademark (pants, jackets, skirts, and shorts).

(Baker and Hamilton), David Warren Ryder (1949).  A Century of Hardware and Steel, Being the Story of Baker & Hamilton, a Business Institution Which Has Helped To Write the History of California and the Pacific Coast. (San Francisco, CA: Historical Publications, 119 p.). Baker and Hamilton.

(Bullocks), Margaret Leslie Davis (1996). Bullocks Wilshire. (Los Angles, CA: Balcony Press, 118 p.). Bullock's Wilshire (Department store)--History; Bullock's Wilshire (Department store)--Pictorial works; Department stores--California, Southern--History.

(GAP Inc.), Louis E.V. Nevaer (2001). Into -- and Out of -- the Gap: A Cautionary Account of an American Retailer. (Westport, CT: Quorum Books, 236 p.). GAP, Inc. -- History; Retail trade -- United States; Clothing and dress -- United States -- Marketing.

(GAP Inc.), Donald Fisher, Art Twain (2002). Falling into the GAP: The Story of Donald Fisher and the Clothing Icon He Created. (Berkeley, CA: Creative Arts Book Co., 724 p.). Founder, GAP Inc.; Former GAP Advertising Copywriter. GAP, Inc. -- History; Retail trade -- United States; Clothing and dress -- United States -- Marketing. 

(Gump's), Richard Gump (1951). Good Taste Costs No More. (Garden City, NY: Doubleday, 185 p.). President, Gump's. Aesthetics; Design, Industrial; Art --Collectors and collecting.

(Gump's), Carol Green Wilson (1965). Gump's Treasure Trade: A Story of San Francisco. (New York, NY: Crowell, 306 p.). S. & G. Gump Company, San Francisco; Art, Oriental.

(Gump's), Editor Gareth Esersky; contributing writers, Nan Birmingham ... [et al.] (1991). Gump's Since 1861: A San Francisco Legend. (San Francisco, CA: Chronicle Books, 136 p.). Gump's (Department store)--History; Department stores--California--San Francisco--History.

(I. Magnin), Devin Thomas Frick (2000). I. Magnin & Co.: A California Legacy. (Garden Grove, CA: Park Place Press, 117 p.). I. Magnin & Co.--History; Department stores--California--History.

(I. Magnin), James Thomas Mullane (2006). A Store To Remember. (San Ramon, CA: Falcon Books, 144 p.). I. Magnin & Co.--History. How I. Magnin came to be a cultural icon, geographic landmark.

(Mervyn’s), Mervin G. Morris (1984). Mervyn’s with a "y": A Story of Retailing. (Indianapolis, IN: Curtis Pub. Co., 96 p.). Morris, Mervin G.; Mervyn’s (Dept. store)--History; Department stores--United States--History; Department stores--California--History.

(Shaklee), Georges Spunt (1977). When Nature Speaks: The Life of Forrest C. Shaklee, Sr. (New York, NY: F. Fell Publishers, 226 p.). Shaklee, Forrest Clell; Shaklee Corporation--History; Chiropractors--California--Biography.

(Shaklee), Robert L. Shook (1982). The Shaklee Story. (New York, NY: Harper & Row, 188 p.). Shaklee, Forrest Clell; Shaklee Corporation; Businesspeople--United States--Biography; Direct selling--United States.

(Shaklee), Nancy Brenner (1994). The Enduring Dream. (White Plains, NY: Published for Shaklee Corp. by the Benjamin Co., 215 p.). Shaklee, Forrest Clell; Shaklee Corporation--History; Businesspeople--United States--Biography.

(Smith & Hawken), Paul Hawken (1987). Growing a Business. (New York, NY: Simon and Schuster, 251 p.). Co-Founder, Smith & Hawken. New business enterprises--Management.

(Smith & Hawken), Dave Smith (2005). To Be of Use: The Seven Seeds of Meaningful Work. (New York, NY: New World Library, 256 p.). Co-Founder, Smith & Hawken. Success in business--Religious aspects; Work--Religious aspects; Professional ethics. Business driven by simple core values (compassion and decency) can make world better place.

(Levi Strauss), Conducted by Harriet Nathan; with an introduction by Clark Kerr (1975). Walter A. Haas, Sr.: Cvic, Philanthropic and Business Leadership: An Interview. (Berkeley, CA: Regional Oral History Office, Bancroft Library, University of California 162 p.). Haas, Walter A., 1889-1979.

(Levi Strauss), Ed Cray (1978). Levi's. (Boston, MA: Houghton Mifflin, 286 p.). Levi Strauss and Company--History.

(Levi Strauss), Irmalotte Masson, Ursula von Wiese (1978). Die Levi-Strauss-Saga: d. Marchenhafte Geschichte d. Mannes, d. d. Jeans Erfand. (Munchen, Germany: Kindler, 247 p.). Strauss, Levi, 1829-1902; Levi Strauss and Company--History; Businesspeople--United States--Biography; Clothing trade--United States--History.

(Levi Strauss), Karl Schoenberger (2000). Levi’s Children: Coming to Terms with Human Rights in the Global Marketplace. (New York, NY: Atlantic Monthly Press, 290 p.). Levi Strauss and Company--History; Clothing trade--United States--History; Human rights--Case studies; Labor policy--United States--Case studies.

(Levi Strauss), Graham Marsh and Paul Trynka (2002). Denim: From Cowboys to Catwalks: A Visual History of the World's Most Legendary Fabric. (London, UK: Aurum, 128 p.). Levi Strauss and Company--History; Jeans (Clothing)--History; Denim--History.

(Levi Strauss), Amaranta Wright (2005). Ripped and Torn: Levi's, Latin America and the Blue Jean Dream. (London, UK: Ebury, 352 p.). Levi Strauss and Company; Globalization.

(Levi Strauss), Lynn Downey (2007). Levi Strauss & Co. (San Francisco, CA . Arcadia Pub., 128 p.). Company Historian. Levi Strauss; Levi Strauss and Company--History; Jeans (Clothing)--History; Denim--History.

(S. & W. Fine Foods), Conducted by Corinne L. Gilb (1955). S. & W. Fine Foods, inc. and the Wholesale Grocery Business, 1905-1955; An Interview. (Berkeley, CA: University of California, General Library, Regional Cultural History Project 180 p.). Falk, Adrien J.; S. & W. Fine Foods, inc.

(Trader Joe's), Len Lewis (2005). The Trader Joe's Adventure: Turning a Unique Approach to Business into a Retail and Cultural Phenomenon. (Chicago, IL: Dearborn Trade Pub. Trader Joe's (Firm)--History; Grocery trade--United States--History; Supermarkets--United States--History; Chain stores--United States--History; Specialty stores--United States--History.

(Tubbs Cordage Company), David Warren Ryder (1954). Men of Rope, Being the History of the Tubbs Cordage Company; Together with an Account of Some of the Collateral Activities in Which Its Pioneer Founders Engaged. With Decorations by Dan Adair. (San Francisco, CA: Historical Publications, 146 p.). Tubbs Cordage Company--History; Cordage industry--United States--History. Founded 1856 on site now occupied by San Francisco’s Muni’s Woods Yard.

(Upper Deck), Pete Williams (1995). Card Sharks: How Upper Deck Turned a Child's Hobby into a High-Stakes, Billion-Dollar Business. (New York, NY: Macmillan, 278 p.). Upper Deck (Firm); Baseball cards --United States --Marketing; Baseball players --United States --Finance, Personal. History of card collecting (tobacco cards, beginning of Topps, its eventual monopoly on card industry); hologram technology to prevent counterfeiting, licenses from MLB, players association; 1989 - first cards printed; revolutionized industry.

(Vans), Doug Palladini; foreword by Steve Van Doren (2009). Vans: Off the Wall — Stories of Sole from Vans Originals. (New York, NY: Abrams, 208 p.). Founding Editor of Snowboarder magazine; 2006 Marketer of the Year (BrandWeek). Vans (Firm); Sneakers --Collectors and collecting; Sneakers --Pictorial works. How casual canvas shoe, do-it-yourself spirit turned pop culture inside out; how action sports brand changed face of pop culture.

Peter R. Decker (1978). Fortunes and Failures: White-Collar Mobility in Nineteenth Century San Francisco. (Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press, 336 p.). Merchants--California--San Francisco--History; Social mobility--California--San Francisco--History; White collar workers--California--San Francisco--History; Occupational mobility--California--San Francisco--History.

Iain Finlayson (1990). Denim: An American Legend. (New York, NY: Simon & Schuster, 126 p.). Jeans (Clothing)--History; Jeans (Clothing)--Advertising; Denim--History; Fashion--United States--History--20th century.

Richard W. Longstreth (1997). City Center to Regional Mall: Architecture, the Automobile, and Retailing in Los Angeles, 1920-1950. (Cambridge, MA: MIT Press, 504 p.). Central business districts -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History; Retail trade -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History; Automobiles -- Social aspects -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History; City and town life -- California -- Los Angeles Metropolitan Area -- History.

Rachel Louise Snyder (2007). Fugitive Denim: A Moving Story of People and Pants in the Borderless World of Global Trade. (New York, NY: Norton, 288 p.). Clothing trade; Denim; International trade. Human, environmental, political forces at work in global garment industry - from cotton picker in Azerbaijan to Cambodian seamstress, denim maker in Italy to fashion designer in New York; questions of equity, sweatshops, corporate social responsibility through narratives.

James Sullivan,  (2006). Jeans: A Cultural History of an American Icon. (New York, NY: Gotham Books, 304 p.). Former Pop Culture Critic (San Francisco Chronicle). Jeans (Clothing)--History. History of American culture as told through its pants;  evolution of jeans from simple utilitarian garment, "waist overall" work pants, to fashion statement.

Alfred Yee (2003). Shopping at Giant Foods: Chinese American Supermarkets in Northern California. (Seattle, WA: University of Washington Press, 193 p.). Supermarkets--California, Northern; Chinese Americans--California, Northern.