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

Smart & Final Smart & Final is a chain of warehouse-style food and supply stores based in Commerce, California, which developed through a series of mergers and expansions. The oldest of the combined companies, Hellman-Haas Grocery, was founded in 1871 in Los ...

), and patriarch of the Haas family.

Biography

Haas was born to a

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

family in

Reckendorf Reckendorf is a community in the district of Bamberg, in Upper Franconia, Bavaria, Germany. With roughly 2,000 inhabitants, Reckendorf is a member of the administrative community (''Verwaltungsgemeinschaft'') of Baunach. Geography Reckendorf lies ...

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria (german: Königreich Bayern; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1805 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German ...

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 Oregon () is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the Western United States. The Columbia River delineates much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington, while the Snake River delineates much of its eastern boundary with Idaho. T ...

at the age of 16 where he worked at a grocery store founded by his cousins, Charles, Samuel, and

Kalman Haas Kalman Haas (1847–1920) was an American businessman, co-founder of the Haas Brothers and member of the Haas family. Biography Haas was born to a Jewish family in Reckendorf, Bavaria, one of nine children including brothers Charles A. (b. 1825) ...

. He then moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

where he co-founded the retail drug and grocery store, ''Hellman, Haas and Company'' with his brother, Jacob, and partners,

Herman W. Hellman Herman W. Hellman (1843–1906) was a German-born businessman, banker, and real estate investor in Los Angeles, California. Early life Herman W. Hellman was born on September 25, 1843, in Reckendorf, Germany, Bavaria. He emigrated to the Unite ...

(brother of banker Isaias W. Hellman) and Bernard Cohn (later the Mayor of Los Angeles). 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" 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 discovery of oil in

Long Beach Long Beach is a city in Los Angeles County, California. It is the 42nd-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 466,742 as of 2020. A charter city, Long Beach is the seventh-most populous city in California. Incorporate ...

, and the opening of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a condui ...

, 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 Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with corporate headquarters in San Francisco, San Francisco, California; operational headquarters in Manhattan; and managerial offices throughout the United St ...

, 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, one of the leading wool merchants in San Francisco, with whom he had four children: Charles Haas (b. 1888), Walter A. Haas Sr. (b. 1889) (married to Elise Stern, daughter of Sigmund Stern, the nephew of

Levi Strauss Levi Strauss (; born Löb Strauß ; February 26, 1829 – September 26, 1902) was a German-born American businessman who founded the first company to manufacture blue jeans. His firm of Levi Strauss & Co. (Levi's) began in 1853 in San Francisc ...

, and granddaughter of

David Stern David Joel Stern (September 22, 1942 – January 1, 2020) was an American lawyer and business executive who was the commissioner of the National Basketball Association (NBA) from 1984 to 2014. Stern oversaw NBA basketball's growth into one of t ...

), Ruth Haas Lilienthal (b. 1891) (married to Philip N. Lilienthal Jr., son of banker

Philip N. Lilienthal Philip Nettre Lilienthal (1850–1908) was an American banker and philanthropist. He served as a director of the California Title Insurance & Trust Company of San Francisco, the San Francisco Free Library, Union Iron Works, and was President of t ...

and grandson of rabbi

Max Lilienthal Max Lilienthal (November 6, 1815 – April 6, 1882) was a German-born adviser for the reform of Jewish schools in Russia and later a rabbi and proponent of Reform Judaism in the United States. Life and religion Work for Russian Government Lilie ...

), 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. Daniel E. Koshland Sr. (18921979) was an American businessman who served as CEO of Levi Strauss & Co. Biography Koshland was born to a Jewish family in San Francisco, the son of Marcus Koshland and Corinne Schweitzer.

, 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)