Tiedtke's
Encyclopedia
Tiedtke's is a former grocery and department store
chain based in Toledo, Ohio
. At its peak, the store, which began life as a grocery, occupied a huge building at Summit Street and Adams downtown, maintained an annex store two blocks away, and a branch store in north Toledo. The family-founded store changed hands several times before all locations closed by 1973. The original store building was destroyed by fire two years later.
). With Toledo an important lake port, their primary business was lake traffic, delivering groceries and supplies to the freighters that would pass through on the Maumee River
. Soon, business was brisk enough for them to expand and carry dry goods
, as well as require a fleet of horse-and-buggies to handle the demand.
The brothers would soon take on a partner, William A. Todd, who helped generate additional lake and marine accounts for the Tiedtke brothers. The business was briefly known as Tietke and Todd, but by 1898, Todd had gone.
The Tiedtkes expanded the business further and by 1910, they had moved the business up Summit Street to the northeast corner of Adams, which it would occupy for the next six decades. With their core business food, they leased the upper floors of the building to firms selling furniture, housewares, clothing and shoes. The brothers also added a bakery, deli and restaurants. The concept was ahead of its time, a forerunner of what would be termed "one-stop shopping".
In 1925, the brothers sold the business to the Kovacher family, which owned the Boston Stores chain in Columbus, Ohio
and Buffalo, New York
. Jerome Kovacher and his son Marvin strove to preserve the Tiedtke's brand by continuing the brothers' policies, retaining their marketing philosophy and keeping the name. They bought out the leased businesses in the Summit Street building so that everything in the six-story building was sold by Tiedtke's, making the business a full-service department store and keeping groceries the center of the business plan."
Like most large American cities at the time, the center of Toledo's commerce was its downtown core, and thanks to public transportation and its strategic location on a main artery, Tiedtke's saw a lot of foot traffic from the 1930s through the 1950s. Tiedtke's was within walking distance to at least three other major Toledo department stores, Lasalle & Koch
, Lamson Brothers and the Lion Store
. Unlike the other three, which were more upscale, Tiedtke's was just as elegant, but catering more to the common man, selling top-quality goods at reasonable prices.
The store would eventually cover the entire block, bounded by Summit, Adams and Water Streets. A large parking lot was laid out between the Water Street side of the store and the riverfront. Tiedtke's would eventually open an annex store just two blocks down Summit Street. As Toledo's suburbs developed, Tiedtke's would open a branch store at Greenwood Mall, an open-air shopping center on Toledo's north side.
By the early 1970s, Tiedtke's closed its downtown annex store, and Federal's had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the summer of 1972. By then, though, it was too late. Management closed the main Summit Street store for good on September 2, 1972, with just three days notice to employees.
The Tiedtke's location at Greenwood Mall hung on for another year, and it closed in 1973. A Montgomery Ward
store would later occupy that space, while the downtown flagship store sat vacant and fell into disrepair.
The site was demolished and sat empty until an indoor mall, the Portside Festival Marketplace, opened on the site in 1984. The mall was unable to sustain itself at that location and it closed in 1990. Today, the site is occupied by the Imagination Station science museum, a hotel and Promenade Park, a huge riverfront space.
Department store
A department store is a retail establishment which satisfies a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice of multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories...
chain based in Toledo, Ohio
Toledo, Ohio
Toledo is the fourth most populous city in the U.S. state of Ohio and is the county seat of Lucas County. Toledo is in northwest Ohio, on the western end of Lake Erie, and borders the State of Michigan...
. At its peak, the store, which began life as a grocery, occupied a huge building at Summit Street and Adams downtown, maintained an annex store two blocks away, and a branch store in north Toledo. The family-founded store changed hands several times before all locations closed by 1973. The original store building was destroyed by fire two years later.
Early History
The firm that would be known as Tiedtke's set up shop in 1894. Brothers Charles and Ernest Tiedtke, who grew up farming in what is today Toledo's east side, opened a grocery store at Summit and Monroe downtown (near present-day Fifth Third FieldFifth Third Field (Toledo)
Fifth Third Field is the name of a minor league baseball stadium in Toledo, Ohio. The Ohio-based Fifth Third Bank purchased the naming rights to the stadium. It is not to be confused with another stadium in Ohio with the same name, Fifth Third Field in Dayton...
). With Toledo an important lake port, their primary business was lake traffic, delivering groceries and supplies to the freighters that would pass through on the Maumee River
Maumee River
The Maumee River is a river in northwestern Ohio and northeastern Indiana in the United States. It is formed at Fort Wayne, Indiana by the confluence of the St. Joseph and St. Marys rivers, and meanders northeastwardly for through an agricultural region of glacial moraines before flowing into the...
. Soon, business was brisk enough for them to expand and carry dry goods
Dry goods
Dry goods are products such as textiles, ready-to-wear clothing, and sundries. In U.S. retailing, a dry goods store carries consumer goods that are distinct from those carried by hardware stores and grocery stores, though "dry goods" as a term for textiles has been dated back to 1742 in England or...
, as well as require a fleet of horse-and-buggies to handle the demand.
The brothers would soon take on a partner, William A. Todd, who helped generate additional lake and marine accounts for the Tiedtke brothers. The business was briefly known as Tietke and Todd, but by 1898, Todd had gone.
The Tiedtkes expanded the business further and by 1910, they had moved the business up Summit Street to the northeast corner of Adams, which it would occupy for the next six decades. With their core business food, they leased the upper floors of the building to firms selling furniture, housewares, clothing and shoes. The brothers also added a bakery, deli and restaurants. The concept was ahead of its time, a forerunner of what would be termed "one-stop shopping".
Becoming a Retail Mecca
Another reason behind the success of the business was its commitment to its employees and to customer service. Tiedtke's would eventually need a fleet of trucks to support the deliveries being made to customers all over Toledo. The brothers were known for the gratitude they showed their employees and were often very generous. Occasionally, an employee that was ill or experiencing financial difficulties would have their medical bills or mortgage paid off by the brothers, no questions asked. The brothers helped take marketing and sales to a new level by creating elaborate displays for fruits, and vegetables, and they created their own coffee blend, Parkwood Coffee. They would often set up the ventilation system to spread the fresh-brewed coffee aroma throughout the store, luring customers to the product.In 1925, the brothers sold the business to the Kovacher family, which owned the Boston Stores chain in Columbus, Ohio
Columbus, Ohio
Columbus is the capital of and the largest city in the U.S. state of Ohio. The broader metropolitan area encompasses several counties and is the third largest in Ohio behind those of Cleveland and Cincinnati. Columbus is the third largest city in the American Midwest, and the fifteenth largest city...
and Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. Jerome Kovacher and his son Marvin strove to preserve the Tiedtke's brand by continuing the brothers' policies, retaining their marketing philosophy and keeping the name. They bought out the leased businesses in the Summit Street building so that everything in the six-story building was sold by Tiedtke's, making the business a full-service department store and keeping groceries the center of the business plan."
Like most large American cities at the time, the center of Toledo's commerce was its downtown core, and thanks to public transportation and its strategic location on a main artery, Tiedtke's saw a lot of foot traffic from the 1930s through the 1950s. Tiedtke's was within walking distance to at least three other major Toledo department stores, Lasalle & Koch
Lasalle & Koch
Lasalle & Koch Co. or Lasalle's was a department store in Toledo, Ohio, U.S.A., with branches in some nearby communities.-History:The Lasalle & Koch Company opened its flagship downtown Toledo at 513 Adams Street in 1918. The company was purchased by R.H. Macy & Co...
, Lamson Brothers and the Lion Store
Lion Store
The Lion Store is a defunct retailer and department store chain in the city of Toledo, Ohio. The stores were bought by Mercantile Stores and were eventually sold to Dillard's.-History:...
. Unlike the other three, which were more upscale, Tiedtke's was just as elegant, but catering more to the common man, selling top-quality goods at reasonable prices.
The store would eventually cover the entire block, bounded by Summit, Adams and Water Streets. A large parking lot was laid out between the Water Street side of the store and the riverfront. Tiedtke's would eventually open an annex store just two blocks down Summit Street. As Toledo's suburbs developed, Tiedtke's would open a branch store at Greenwood Mall, an open-air shopping center on Toledo's north side.
Decline and Closure
In 1961, the Kovachers sold Tiedtke's to the Detroit-based department chain Federal's. They, too, retained the Tiedtke's nameplate, but made a lot of other changes, such as altering the layout of the sales floors and deemphasizing the store's core grocery business. This, along with the ongoing flight of residents from the inner-city to the suburbs, caused sales at the store to decline.By the early 1970s, Tiedtke's closed its downtown annex store, and Federal's had filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the summer of 1972. By then, though, it was too late. Management closed the main Summit Street store for good on September 2, 1972, with just three days notice to employees.
The Tiedtke's location at Greenwood Mall hung on for another year, and it closed in 1973. A Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward
Montgomery Ward is an online retailer that carries the same name as the former American department store chain, founded as the world's #1 mail order business in 1872 by Aaron Montgomery Ward, and which went out of business in 2001...
store would later occupy that space, while the downtown flagship store sat vacant and fell into disrepair.
Fire and Future of Site
On the evening of May 7, 1975, Toledo firefighters were called to the Tiedtke's building on a report of a fire breaking out in the structure. According to the May 8 edition of the Toledo Blade, the blaze grew to a three-alarmer within an hour. Flames towered hundreds of feet into the sky and could be seen for miles, also damaging a furniture store across Adams Street. A huge crowd gathered in the former Water Street parking lot to watch the blaze, and several times they tried to break through the cordon of police and firemen.The site was demolished and sat empty until an indoor mall, the Portside Festival Marketplace, opened on the site in 1984. The mall was unable to sustain itself at that location and it closed in 1990. Today, the site is occupied by the Imagination Station science museum, a hotel and Promenade Park, a huge riverfront space.