Kenny Rubenstein
Kenny Rubenstein is owner and general manager of Rubenstein’s, a 91-year-old fine men’s clothing store on Canal and St. Charles in New Orleans. Kenny is a third-generation owner of the store.
Talking points – from Kenny:
• We re-opened 51 days after Hurricane Katrina
o Moderate flooding
o Reopened eight weeks after storm
o Had one of our best sales years
o Whole store was 30% off
• We close at 5:45pm because the streetcar used to stop running at 6:00pm
• Even though we are 91 years old, we have employees that have been with us for 33, 38 and even 51 years
• Founded 1924- Morris Rubenstein needed to provide for his new wife
• Significant milestone- purchased building in 1934
o Landlord occasionally viewed building from neutral ground with strangers and made Morris and Elkin nervous. They borrowed money from relatives and purchased building
• First U.S. store to carry Ermenegildo Zegna - convinced Zegna to size for U.S. market
• Used to have a Wall of Fame - Signatures of well-known celebrities: Liberace, Michael Jackson, Shaquille O Neal, and many others - Took it down after a celebrity wrote inappropriate words on wall
• Occupies six buildings
o When putting a door between a common wall, a gun was found between the walls with a bullet in the chamber - leaves a lot to speculate
• Big convention/tourist city - have customers from all over the world - Customer from New Zealand came into the store and told us his neighbor recommended us and that if he was going to be in New Orleans, he had to shop with us
• You will always find a Rubenstein on the sales floor
