Herberger's closing marks end of era for downtown St. Cloud

ST. CLOUD — The closing of a downtown retail icon marks the end of an era for St. Cloud. The announcement that all Herberger's stores nationwide will close came Tuesday night from parent company Bon-Ton Stores Inc.

Herberger's has been a downtown fixture in St. Cloud since 1927. Bob Herberger founded the Herberger-Hart Co. in 1927 and G.R. Herberger's Inc. department stores in 1942. Herberger lived in St. Cloud with his wife, Katherine, from 1934-1947.

More:Bon-Ton stores out of business officially: Herberger's locations to close soon

The retailer's headquarters were located in downtown St. Cloud until 2000 when the parent company at the time, Saks Inc., consolidated management and distribution work to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. The move cut 260 jobs from the local economy, and now the retailer's closure will leave a big hole in St. Cloud's downtown scene.

The St. Cloud store declined to comment for this story. Messages left with Bon-Ton corporate communications were not returned Wednesday. The Times reached out to local officials to get their reaction and outlook for downtown's business climate.

"It has been a longstanding anchor for pedestrian traffic and retail downtown,” said Jolene Foss, executive director of the St. Cloud Downtown Council. “The Herberger’s location is a prime location downtown, and I think that it would be quite easy for the downtown to absorb that space and reuse it in a way that is going to be beneficial.”

Foss said the space could potentially be broken up into smaller retail shops, be used as office space or even redeveloped into downtown housing. She was optimistic in finding another use for the space. 

"There will be a hole left by Herberger’s," Foss said. "I’m very hopeful about our downtown having the strength to absorb this and to be able to just continue to move forward. We will see changes and that space will be something new and something exciting, but we just don’t know what that is yet."

St. Cloud Mayor Dave Kleis said it was hard to see the retailer and local institution close, especially because Herberger's had such strong roots in Central Minnesota. He said his  primary focus will be on assisting employees impacted by the closing.

"It’s very unfortunate and they’ve been a real big part of downtown St. Cloud for a very long time," Kleis said. "It’s tough, but we’ve been anticipating it and we’re going to do everything we can to fill that void."

Here is a timeline of the retailer's history. Details come from the St. Cloud Times archives and Stearns History Museum.

1927: George Robert "Bob" Herberger founds the Herberger-Hart Co. First store opens in downtown St. Cloud.

1941: A New Year's Eve fire destroys the St. Cloud store; it is rebuilt and reopens the following spring.

1942: G.R. Herberger's Inc. department stores is founded and incorporated for the purpose of acquiring additional stores and expanding into other communities.

1943: The first location outside of St. Cloud opens in Watertown, S.D.

1946: New Ulm store opens.

1961: Wausau, Wis. store opens.

1963: Alexandria store opens. Bob Sullivan becomes president after nine years of working for the company.

1964: Chippewa Falls, Wis. store opens.

1965: LaCrosse, Wis. store opens.

1967: Albert Lea store opens.

1969: Aberdeen, S.D. store opens.

Oct. 1972: Bob Herberger sells his department stores to key employees.

1970: The company opens a separate group of specialized stores known as Herberger's Fabrics. Seven stores operate in Iowa, Missouri and Nebraska. The fabric operation is later sold in 1973.

1971: First shopping center store opens in Bismark, N.D. at Kirkwood Plaza.

1974: Mitchell, S.D. store opens in Super City.

1975: St. Cloud store opens at Crossroads Center. Sioux Falls, S.D. store opens in Empire Mall.

1976: Great Falls and Billings, Mont. stores open. New store in Rice Lake, Wis. opens in Cedar Mall.

1977: New Alexandria store opens in Viking Plaza and new Virginia store opens in Thunderbird Mall.

1978: Fergus Falls store opens in Westridge Mall, Willmar store opens in Kandi Mall, Rapid City, S.D. store opens in Rushmore Mall and Gillette, Wyo. store opens.

1979: Stores added in Rock Springs, Wis. and Dickinson, N.D. Bismark, N.D. store is expanded and remodeled.

1980: Stores added in Minot, N.D. and Havre, Mont.

1981: Herberger's acquires St. Paul store and opens new store in Beaver Dam, Wis.

1982: Three J.M. McDonald stores are purchased and reopened as Herberger's stores in Hastings, Norfolk and North Platte, Neb.

1983: Moorhead store acquired.

1984: Fourth Nebraska store opens in Kearney.

Dec. 1984: Herberger's department store officials announce plans to buy Fandel's department store. Fandel's was established in St. Cloud in 1882.

1985: Fandel's acquisition is completed. Herberger's opens at its current location in Centre Square in downtown St. Cloud. New store opens in Brainerd.

1986: Stores open in Kalispell, Mont. and Scotts Bluff, Neb.

1987: Minneapolis store opens.

1989: Stores open in Ottumwa and Waterloo, Iowa.

1990: Stillwater store opens.

1991: Stores open in Grand Junction, Colo. and Mankato. A second store opens in Billings, Mont.

1992: Distribution center opens in Sartell.

1993: Appleton, Wis. store opens.

1994: Stores open in Urbana, Ill., Butte, Mont. and Bemidji.

1996: One store closes in Billings, Mont. Herberger's announces sale to Proffitt's Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn.

Feb. 1997: Sale to Proffitt's Inc is completed.

Sept. 1998: Proffitt's merges with Saks Holdings Inc. and adopts the Saks name.

1999: Bob Herberger dies. Herberger family gives a $3 million endowment to St. Cloud State University. The business school was named in his honor as a result.

Feb. 2000: The Times reports that by the end of October 2000 St. Cloud will no longer be the headquarters for Herberger's department stores, a move that cuts 260 local jobs. The consolidation is expected to cut operational costs by transferring most of the department store chain's management work and all distribution work to sites run by sister chain Carson Pirie Scott, which is also owned by Saks Inc.

2005: Bon-Ton Stores Inc. takes ownership of Herberger's and three other department store chains, purchasing them from Saks Inc. for $1.18 billion.

Jan. 2009: Bon-Ton announces it will cut about 1,150 positions from its corporate staff and its 281 retail locations. The job losses amount to about 3.6 percent of the company's 32,000 workers.

Feb. 4, 2018: Bon-Ton files for bankruptcy and begins searching for a buyer that would allow it to stay in business.

April 17, 2018: Bon-Ton confirms in a news release it will be closing all of its Herberger's stores nationwide.

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