Brandeis Department Store

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

J. L. Brandeis & Sons began in Omaha in 1881, when Jonas L. Brandeis opened a small store at 506 South 13th Street. The enterprise grew through the Boston Store at 16th and Douglas, then took its enduring Brandeis identity as the family expanded its retail ambitions.

In 1906, the company opened its imposing flagship and headquarters at 200 South 16th Street in downtown Omaha. The building was enlarged from eight stories to ten in 1921. Beyond merchandise, Brandeis sold the complete department-store experience: restaurants, a post office, meeting rooms, and even free telephone service. Casual errand? Not on Brandeis’ watch.

The Omaha company developed into a regional chain and acquired Lincoln’s Gold & Company in 1964. At its 1970s peak, Brandeis operated 15 stores around the Midwest, making the big downtown store the ceremonial heart of a distinctly Nebraska retail institution.

Downtown retail changed, hard. Brandeis closed its original Omaha flagship in 1980, and its remaining 11-store chain was sold to Younkers in 1987; the stores were subsequently converted to the Younkers name.

Our Brandeis Department Store collection celebrates the grand emporium, the lunch-room glamour, the holiday-window wonder, and the sturdy paper shopping bag from an Omaha original that once treated a trip downtown like an event.