Finally!

A reason discuss Rachel Menken.

You’d figure with names like Neiman-Marcus or  Saks the idea of a Jewish department might lend itself to upscale associations — not if you’re from Brooklyn!

Mencken and her retail dynasty’s branding crisis (“Not wanting to be another Jewish deparment store”) closely resembles that of Kleinfeld’s department store. Based in Bay Ridge since 1941, Kleinfeld’s became the epicenter for discount bridal wear in the borough. It was run by  a father and daughter team named Jack and Hedda (Chosen People, naturally.).

Hedda, a Viennese Immigrant and eventual owner of Klienfield’s, said this about their out-of-Manhattan location:

“People would say, ‘Why did you stay in Bay Ridge?’” she recalled. “It is because we had the best working staff. It was a classy labor market. The seamstresses and the sales people had very high standards but didn’t like the idea of traveling to the city everyday, so they came here and they had an outlet for their talents, and it was very good for the reputation of the store.

But then in 2005 Klienfield’s abandoned Brooklyn for the city. Hedda’s description of the store could have come right of Menken’s (incredulous) pitch to Don.

The new Kleinfeld location will be dramatically more spacious and elegant, but one thing that will not change is our focus on our customer, which is the magic behind Kleinfeld.”