Gabriel Brothers, Inc. (doing business as Gabe's) is an American

off-price Off-price is a trading format based on Discounts and allowances, discount pricing. Off-price retailers are independent of manufacturers and buy large volumes of branded goods directly from them. The off-price retail model relies on the purchase of ...

department store A department store is a retail establishment offering a wide range of consumer goods in different areas of the store under one roof, each area ("department") specializing in a product category. In modern major cities, the department store mad ...

chain headquartered in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

, United States. As of 2023, there are 131 Gabe's stores and 38 Old Time Pottery stores across 20 states, with the support of six distribution centers serving the

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Midwest The Midwestern United States (also referred to as the Midwest, the Heartland or the American Midwest) is one of the four census regions defined by the United States Census Bureau. It occupies the northern central part of the United States. It ...

, and

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History

In the early 1920s, Zaghieb G. "Z.G." Gabriel began selling merchandise out of the back of a green-paneled truck he had outfitted with shelves and drawers. As he drove his mobile shop through the coal towns of

Fayette County, Pennsylvania Fayette County is a county in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. It is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, adjacent to Maryland and West Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 128,804. Its county seat is Uniontown. The county wa ...

, he greeted and got to know his customers, seeing firsthand the need for inexpensive merchandise. Z.G. began to hop freight trains bound for

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, taking empty duffle bags with him. There, he would buy up excess inventory from shops, returning with bags full of merchandise to sell at deep discounts. In 1961, Z.G.'s two sons, James and Arthur, co-founded Gabriel Brothers in

. Through the 1980s and 1990s, the brothers led Gabe's through an expansion into various states including Maryland, Ohio, and Virginia. On March 21, 2012, the Gabriel family sold its majority interest in the company to Alvarez & Marsal Capital, a

-based middle-market private equity firm. In 2013, the stores were rebranded as "Gabe's", but retained "Gabriel Brothers" as its legal name. On December 22, 2016, Alvarez & Marsal Capital sold their stake to

Warburg Pincus Warburg Pincus LLC is a global private equity firm, headquartered in New York City, with offices in the United States, Europe, Brazil, China, Southeast Asia and India. Warburg has been a private equity investor since 1966. As of April 2024 the f ...

, a private equity firm also based in

. In April 2023, Gabe's acquired the Tennessee-based, home merchandise chain

Old Time Pottery Old Time Pottery is a discount home décor retailer based in Murfreesboro, Tennessee, United States. History Old Time Pottery was founded in 1986 by Jack Peterson in Murfreesboro, Tennessee Murfreesboro is a city in Rutherford County, T ...

. As of 2024, there are 131 Gabe's and 34 Old Time Pottery store locations in 20 states:

Alabama Alabama ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South, Deep Southern regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gu ...

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic and South Atlantic states, South Atlantic regions of the United States. It borders Maryland to its south and west, Pennsylvania to its north, New Jersey ...

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, and

West Virginia West Virginia is a mountainous U.S. state, state in the Southern United States, Southern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States.The United States Census Bureau, Census Bureau and the Association of American ...

References

External links

* Retail companies based in West Virginia Discount stores of the United States Companies based in Morgantown, West Virginia American companies established in 1961 Retail companies established in 1961 1961 establishments in West Virginia Department stores of the United States Warburg Pincus companies {{US-retail-company-stub