Abraham Haas (1847–August 8, 1921) was an American businessman, co-founder of the Hellman, Haas & Co. (which became Smart & Final), and patriarch of the Haas family.

Biography

Haas was born to a Jewish family in Reckendorf, Kingdom of Bavaria in 1847 and immigrated to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: * Portland, Oregon, the largest city in the state of Oregon, in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States * Portland, Maine, the largest city in the state of Maine, in the New England region of the northeas ...

, Oregon at the age of 16 where he worked at a grocery store founded by his cousins, Charles, Samuel, and Kalman Haas. He then moved to Los Angeles where he co-founded the retail drug and grocery store, ''Hellman, Haas and Company'' with his brother, Jacob, and partners, Herman W. Hellman (brother of banker

Isaias W. Hellman Isaias Wolf Hellman (October 3, 1842 – April 9, 1920) was a German-born American banker and philanthropist, and a founding father of the University of Southern California. Early life Hellman was born in Reckendorf, Bavaria on October 3, 1842. ...

) and Bernard Cohn (later the

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of the City of Los Angeles is the official head and chief executive officer of Los Angeles. The officeholder is elected for a four-year term and is term limit, limited to serving no more than two terms. (Under the Constitution of Califo ...

). Using his profits, he founded the first flour milling and cold storage businesses in Los Angeles, the Capital Milling Company, as well as several electricity and gas companies. In the 1880s, Jacob Baruch bought out the other partners and the company changed its name to ''Haas, Baruch & Co.'' in 1889. The company pioneered the "

cash & carry US Foods CHEF'STORE (formerly Smart Foodservice Warehouse Stores and Cash&Carry Smart Foodservice) is a chain of American warehouse grocery stores located in Arizona, California, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Ca ...

" concept in Los Angeles (before clerks would gather the groceries for the customers) and by 1895, benefiting from rapid population growth in the region thanks to the building of the

Los Angeles aqueduct The Los Angeles Aqueduct system, comprising the Los Angeles Aqueduct (Owens Valley aqueduct) and the Second Los Angeles Aqueduct, is a water conveyance system, built and operated by the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power. The Owens Valley ...

, the discovery of oil in Long Beach, and the opening of the Panama Canal, the company had $2 million in sales.Smart and Final History
retrieved April 21, 2014 Haas became one of the leading philanthropists in the city at the time. He moved to San Francisco in 1900 where he founded ''Haas Wholesale Grocers'' and also served as a director for Wells Fargo Bank, the San Francisco Savings & Loan Company, the California Insurance League, and the Union Sugar Company. Haas was a benefactor of the Eureka Benevolent Society (later the Jewish Family Service), the Federation of Jewish Charities, and the Pacific Orphans’ Asylum and Home Society.

Personal life

Haas married Fanny Koshland, daughter of

Simon Koshland Simon Koshland (1825–1896) was a Kingdom of Bavaria-born American businessman, and wool merchant. He is the patriarch of the Koshland and Haas family of San Francisco.The Jews of San Francisco, by Martin A. Meyer, Ph.D., Emanu-El, San Francisco, ...

, one of the leading wool merchants in San Francisco, with whom he had four children: Charles Haas (b. 1888),

Walter A. Haas Sr. Walter A. Haas Sr. (May 11, 1889 – December 7, 1979), was an American billionaire businessman who was the president and chairman of Levi Strauss & Co. Early life and education Haas was born to a Jewish family, one of four children of Abra ...

(b. 1889) (married to Elise Stern, daughter of Sigmund Stern, the nephew of Levi Strauss, and granddaughter of David Stern), Ruth Haas Lilienthal (b. 1891) (married to Philip N. Lilienthal Jr., son of banker Philip N. Lilienthal and grandson of rabbi Max Lilienthal), and Eleanor Haas Koshland (b. 1900)The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art and Life: "Berkeley Haas (Abraham) correspondence, 1885-1886"
, The Bancroft Library , University of California , retrieved April 21, 2014 (married to her cousin Daniel E. Koshland Sr., the son of her maternal uncle, Marcus Koshland).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Haas, Abraham American company founders Haas family 1847 births 1921 deaths Bavarian emigrants to the United States Businesspeople from California People from Reckendorf Koshland family Burials at Home of Peace Cemetery (Colma, California)