A History of the Atlanta Rich's Department Store

By Keishana Roberts 

Hungarian immigrant Morris Rich born January 13, 1847 founded M. Rich and Co., on May 28, 1867.  It was said, that he borrowed money from his brother to open the dry goods store on Whitehall Street in Atlanta, Ga which today is now M. L. King Blvd. A few years later his brothers Morris and Daniel Rich were admitted into partnership. Years later in 1882, M. Rich & Bro. opened a larger location on the corner of Whitehall and Hunter Street, high Victorian architectural style department store. Rich's catered to the middle class, guaranteeing customers everything to every class. In 1924 the company moved to its final location at the corner of Alabama and Broad Street which was the main store that consist four stories designed in Italian Renaissance style.

By the year 1897 Morris Rich dies and in less than a year, the company reorganize and announces the merchandising business of the company as Rich's Inc. Rich’s Department Store industrialized with the city in the 1960’s and 1970’s, expanding into malls throughout metro Atlanta. Rich's had a total of 36 store locations that ranged from Georgia to Tennessee.  

Rich’s building was important to the growth of Southeastern commercial organization and its role in attaching Atlanta’s original shopping district. As the company grew, it developed a reputation for being caring, trustworthy and responsive to customers within districts.

Rich’s helped during the depression by exchanging goods with farmers for cotton and helped teachers financially when the City of Atlanta couldn’t afford to pay them. Walter Rich called the mayor and suggested that the teacher gets paid in scrip and he would cash the full values of the scrip without demanding them to shop at the store.

Rich's Knoxville eating facilities remained segregated until October 1960, when administration gave the store permission to open its basement lunch counter to both whites and blacks. Although it opened up for blacks they removed the stools and only allowed them to stand. Unluckily the bar didn't desegregate for long, after Martin Luther King Jr.'s arrest on October 19, 1960 at Rich's downtown Magnolia Room the company withdrew its decision and segregated the counter once again.

By the mid-70's Rich's downtown department store opened a cooking school due to the lose of customers. The school generated more than ten thousand students over its nearly ten-year operation and closed in late 1984. Rich’s remained a local institution until 1976, the company agreed to merge with Federal Department Services, Inc., headquarters in Cincinnati, Ohio. The Federated begin facing its own business challenges, ultimately filing for bankruptcy January 1990. The relationship that Rich’s had with the community and its customers began to vanish. On April 18, 1991, the downtown store was closed, and on January 2005 Macy’s and Rich’s being owned by the same company shortly announced the dropping of Rich’s and unanimously making Macy’s the brand.

 

Resources 

Bailey, Matthew. Rich's Department Store: New Georgia Encyclopedia. 29 May 2014. Web. 15 March 2016.

Clemmons, Jeff. Rich's: A Southern Institution. Charleston, SC:History,2012. Print.