Jeff's Haberdashery opened in the spring of 1973 and was the beginning of a dream realized by a man who was driven to succeed. In his own words:
"The early years were difficult and required long tiring hours. But because of a love for fashion and a burning desire to succeed, we stuck it out. The challenge of convincing a bank to lend money to a kid only twenty-three years old was really fun. An even greater task was to convince a landlord to participate in the construction cost of a new store in an unknown West Bank shopping center. My argument was straightforward. 1) I had a college degree in political science and five years of men's retail experience. 2) I had already established a huge clientele who would follow me. 3) I had a partner in my wife who was a special education teacher and who's salary would help during the early times of struggle. 4) My faith in myself that no one would ever outwork me, physically or mentally, making me ready for any challenge in business. Confident and determined, I told Mr. Sizeler, of Sizeler Realty, that if he would help me build my store that I would be the best tenant he had ever had."
"In the board room for this important meeting were six gentlemen. Only Mr. A.L. Sizeler and his head leasing agent at the time, believed in me. The other four were convinced of my imminent failure. The outcome of the meeting was that Mr. Sizeler, a prince of a guy, instructed his attorney to execute a lease for me that included a generous building allowance. I made good on my promise of hard work and dedication and fortunately, history proved my supporters to be correct. The old adage about America being a great land of opportunity proved true for me. Now after so many years in the men's business, I can say I still love it. My passion for fashion is the engine that still drives me."
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