Jamesway

Ghost Corp Apparel — resurrecting iconic corporate ghosts.

Jamesway Corporation began with a single discount department store in Jamestown, New York, in 1961, founded by Herbert Fisher. The name was a tidy nod to its birthplace—a retail identity built for the era when a trip for socks might end with a toaster, toys, and a new living-room lamp.

By 1968, the chain operated 13 stores across New York, Pennsylvania, and New Jersey. It later expanded through the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, adding locations and taking over sites associated with former chains including Two Guys, Woolco, King’s, Mays, and Westons. At its 1991 peak, Jamesway operated 138 stores.

Corporate operations were headquartered in Secaucus, New Jersey, including at 40 Hartz Way. The giant-value formula eventually collided with weak results, restructuring, and brutal big-box competition. Jamesway entered Chapter 11 on July 19, 1993, emerged in January 1995 with 90 stores, then filed again in October 1995 and began liquidation.

Our Jamesway collection celebrates the fluorescent-lit hunt for bargains, household necessities, and one more thing you definitely did not come in for. It is a salute to the regional discount-store survivor spirit—right up until the receipts stopped printing.