Abraham Haas (1847 – August 8, 1921) was an American businessman, co-founder of Hellman, Haas & Co. (later Haas, Baruch & Co., which ultimately merged with

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 & Co., was founded in 1871 in Lo ...

), and patriarch of the Haas family, the primary shareholders of Levi Strauss & Co.

Biography

Haas was born to a

Jewish Jews (, , ), or the Jewish people, are an ethnoreligious group and nation, originating from the Israelites of History of ancient Israel and Judah, ancient Israel and Judah. They also traditionally adhere to Judaism. Jewish ethnicity, rel ...

family in Reckendorf,

Kingdom of Bavaria The Kingdom of Bavaria ( ; ; spelled ''Baiern'' until 1825) was a German state that succeeded the former Electorate of Bavaria in 1806 and continued to exist until 1918. With the unification of Germany into the German Empire in 1871, the kingd ...

in 1847 and immigrated to

Portland Portland most commonly refers to: *Portland, Oregon, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Oregon *Portland, Maine, the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine *Isle of Portland, a tied island in the English Channel Portland may also r ...

Oregon Oregon ( , ) is a U.S. state, state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is a part of the Western U.S., with the Columbia River delineating much of Oregon's northern boundary with Washington (state), Washington, while 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, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

where he co-founded the retail drug and grocery store, ''Hellman, Haas & Co.'' with his brother, Jacob Haas, and partners, Herman W. Hellman (brother of banker Isaias W. Hellman) and Bernard Cohn (later the

Mayor of Los Angeles The mayor of Los Angeles is the head of the executive branch of the government of Los Angeles and the chief executive of Los Angeles. The office is officially Non-partisan democracy, nonpartisan, a change made in the 1909 charter; previously, ...

). 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 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 Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, and the opening of the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal () is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Caribbean Sea with the Pacific Ocean. It cuts across the narrowest point of the Isthmus of Panama, and is a Channel (geography), conduit for maritime trade between th ...

, 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 was a director for

Wells Fargo Bank Wells Fargo & Company is an American multinational financial services company with a significant global presence. The company operates in 35 countries and serves over 70 million customers worldwide. It is a systemically important fi ...

, 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

Abraham Haas married Fanny Koshland, a daughter of

Simon Koshland Simon Koshland (1825–1896) was a Bavarian-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, June 1 ...

, one of the leading wool merchants in San Francisco, with whom he had four children: Charles Haas (1888-?), Walter A. Haas Sr. (1889-1979) (married Elise Fanny Stern, daughter of Sigmund Stern, a 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 Franci ...

, 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 (1891-1975) (married Philip N. Lilienthal Jr., son of banker Philip N. Lilienthal 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 Lili ...

), and Eleanor Haas Koshland (1900-1959)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 her cousin Daniel E. Koshland Sr., the son of her maternal uncle, Marcus Koshland).

References

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