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The Bon-Ton
Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton (/bɒntɒn/) is an American former department store chain and group founded in 1898 whose name is now used with an e-commerce website.
Bonton's stores operated in Western New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and throughout the Midwestern United States. The formerly York, Pennsylvania-based company filed for bankruptcy in February 2018 and sold the name to CSC Generation, which in turn sold it to BrandX.com in 2021, an e-commerce site under the brand name. Along with Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers, the names of most of the defunct retail group's department store chains are owned by BrandX.
The Bon-Ton was founded in 1898, when Max Grumbacher and his father, Samuel, opened S. Grumbacher & Son, a one-room millinery and dry goods store on Market Street in York, Pennsylvania.
As reported in the Carlisle Evening Sentinel on October 31, 1902, the store chain had two additional locations under the name "Bon-Ton Millinery" in Trenton, New Jersey, and five Pennsylvania locations: Carlisle, Lancaster, Lebanon, Altoona, and East Liverpool. The name "Bon-Ton" was drawn from a British term connoting the "elite" or "high society".
Through World War I and the Roaring Twenties, the Grumbacher's store chain grew bigger, and in 1929, the company was incorporated as S. Grumbacher & Son, Inc. In 1931, Max's son, Max Samuel (M.S.), joined the company. When Max the elder died in 1933, his widow, Daisy, and their two sons, M.S. and Richard, continued the business, forming a partnership in 1936.
The Bon-Ton was a popular store destination on the classic radio show Fibber McGee and Molly, which aired from 1935 to 1959.
Following World War II, the Grumbacher family expanded operations even further. In 1946, an additional Bon-Ton was opened, in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Two years later, the company moved outside Pennsylvania, acquiring Eyerly's in Hagerstown, Maryland, and, in 1957, purchasing McMeen's in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. These early moves set Bon-Ton's policy of growing into adjacent areas by opening new stores and acquiring existing businesses.
Over the next three decades, The Bon-Ton Stores continued to expand. In 1961, M.S.'s son, M. Thomas "Tim", entered the business, representing the fourth generation of Grumbachers. During the 1960s, the company opened new Eyerly's and Bon-Ton stores in several Pennsylvania communities and one in West Virginia. In 1969, they retired McMeen's name. During the 1970s, as the popularity of shopping centers began to grow, The Bon-Ton opened 11 new stores in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.
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The Bon-Ton
Bonton Holdings Inc. operating as Bonton (/bɒntɒn/) is an American former department store chain and group founded in 1898 whose name is now used with an e-commerce website.
Bonton's stores operated in Western New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, West Virginia, Maryland, and throughout the Midwestern United States. The formerly York, Pennsylvania-based company filed for bankruptcy in February 2018 and sold the name to CSC Generation, which in turn sold it to BrandX.com in 2021, an e-commerce site under the brand name. Along with Bergner's, Boston Store, Carson's, Elder-Beerman, Herberger's, and Younkers, the names of most of the defunct retail group's department store chains are owned by BrandX.
The Bon-Ton was founded in 1898, when Max Grumbacher and his father, Samuel, opened S. Grumbacher & Son, a one-room millinery and dry goods store on Market Street in York, Pennsylvania.
As reported in the Carlisle Evening Sentinel on October 31, 1902, the store chain had two additional locations under the name "Bon-Ton Millinery" in Trenton, New Jersey, and five Pennsylvania locations: Carlisle, Lancaster, Lebanon, Altoona, and East Liverpool. The name "Bon-Ton" was drawn from a British term connoting the "elite" or "high society".
Through World War I and the Roaring Twenties, the Grumbacher's store chain grew bigger, and in 1929, the company was incorporated as S. Grumbacher & Son, Inc. In 1931, Max's son, Max Samuel (M.S.), joined the company. When Max the elder died in 1933, his widow, Daisy, and their two sons, M.S. and Richard, continued the business, forming a partnership in 1936.
The Bon-Ton was a popular store destination on the classic radio show Fibber McGee and Molly, which aired from 1935 to 1959.
Following World War II, the Grumbacher family expanded operations even further. In 1946, an additional Bon-Ton was opened, in Hanover, Pennsylvania. Two years later, the company moved outside Pennsylvania, acquiring Eyerly's in Hagerstown, Maryland, and, in 1957, purchasing McMeen's in Lewistown, Pennsylvania. These early moves set Bon-Ton's policy of growing into adjacent areas by opening new stores and acquiring existing businesses.
Over the next three decades, The Bon-Ton Stores continued to expand. In 1961, M.S.'s son, M. Thomas "Tim", entered the business, representing the fourth generation of Grumbachers. During the 1960s, the company opened new Eyerly's and Bon-Ton stores in several Pennsylvania communities and one in West Virginia. In 1969, they retired McMeen's name. During the 1970s, as the popularity of shopping centers began to grow, The Bon-Ton opened 11 new stores in Pennsylvania and West Virginia.