Sattler's was a regional department store chain headquartered at 998 Broadway,

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is a Administrative divisions of New York (state), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and county seat of Erie County, New York, Erie County. It lies in Western New York at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of ...

, two miles (3 km) from the downtown core. They pioneered "bargain basement" retailing in the Buffalo area. Sattler's was founded in 1889 by 17-year-old John G. Sattler when he opened a one-room shoe store in his mother's home at 992 Broadway.Sattler's
''forgottenbuffalo'' Includes exterior streetscape photos, retrieved 2011-01-25. That store would eventually become Sattler's main store which, by 1950, covered and included the flagship store. In the late-1920s the store introduced a number of innovative marketing and promotional schemes to attract customers such as weekly automobile giveaways and high wire walkers. They also resold the contents of bankrupt stores purchased in railcar lots called the "Bargain Train". Starting in 1947, they sponsored an annual Santa Claus parade. Sattler's other Buffalo-area locations included stores in the Thruway Plaza (later Thruway Mall) in

Cheektowaga, New York Cheektowaga (; ) is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town has grown to a population of 89,877. The town is in the north-central part of the county, and is an inner ring suburb of Buffalo. The town is ...

(1957),

Boulevard Mall Boulevard Mall was a shopping mall located north of the city of Buffalo at the western edge of the Town of Amherst in Erie County, New York, United States. The name derives from its location on Niagara Falls Boulevard ( U.S. Route 62), which ...

Amherst, New York Amherst () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Erie County, New York, Erie County, New York (state), New York, United States. It is a suburb of Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. As of 2020, the town had a total population of 129,595. ...

(1962), Seneca Mall in

West Seneca, New York West Seneca is a town in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 45,500 at the 2020 census. West Seneca is a centrally located interior town of the county, and a suburb of Buffalo. West Seneca, Orchard Park and Hamburg form t ...

(1969), and Main Place Mall in downtown Buffalo (1973). In 1962–63, a store operated in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

. In 1969, the company opened stores in

Chautauqua, New York Chautauqua ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town and lake resort community in Chautauqua County, New York, Chautauqua County, New York (state), New York. The population was 4,009 at the 2020 census. The town is named after Cha ...

, and in

Olean, New York Olean ( ) is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Cattaraugus County, New York, United States. Olean is the largest city in Cattaraugus County and serves as its financial, business, transportation and entertainment center. It is ...

. In September 1965, Sattler's opened an innovative home furnishings and food merchandising concept store in an old industrial plant that covered at Elmwood and Hertel avenues in Buffalo. The $5 million, store operated as Sattler's Wonderful World of Food, Inc., and Home Furnishings City U.S.A. The store closed in 1979. Starting in 1963, Sattler's also operated eight drug stores, including four free-standing units. These stores closed in 1979. The Sattler's chain, then owned by United Department Stores, closed in 1982. The flagship store was razed in 1989, and replaced with a

Kmart Kmart ( ), formerly legally registered as Kmart Corporation, now operated by Transformco, is a department-store chain and online retailer in the United States and Territories of the United States, its territories. It operates four remaining Kma ...

, which subsequently closed in 2003.

References

External links

- Forgotten Buffalo's Sattler's Page

Photo Essay - "Once Upon a Time in Buffalo," by Karl Josker (accessed 08/17/08).
Defunct department stores based in New York State Defunct discount stores of the United States Retail companies established in 1889 American companies established in 1889 1889 establishments in New York (state) Retail companies disestablished in 1982 1982 disestablishments in New York (state) Companies based in Buffalo, New York {{US-retail-company-stub