James R. Gabriel, president and co-founder of Gabriel Brothers, a popular chain of discount stores where shoppers pick through racks of marked-down merchandise in search of the ultimate bargain, died Thursday of brain cancer.
Mr. Gabriel was 75 and a resident of Hopwood, Fayette County.
The chain that Mr. Gabriel and his brother launched in 1961 with a single store in Morgantown, W.Va., is better known among its legions of devoted customers simply as "Gabe's."
The retailer, still based in Morgantown, operates 36 Gabriel Brothers stores in Pennsylvania, West Virginia, Maryland, Ohio and Virginia and generated $352.6 million in revenues last year. It operates another 65 stores through the Mid-Atlantic and Southern states under the name Rugged Wearhouse.
Mr. Gabriel grew up in Uniontown, the oldest son of Z.G. Gabriel, a Lebanese immigrant who sold discount goods out of a truck, went bankrupt in 1930 and then opened a small shop in Uniontown in the 1940s where he began selling factory overruns.
His father sent all of his six children to college and Mr. Gabriel in the 1950s earned a bachelor's degree in political science from Kent State University, served for three years in the Navy and then obtained a master's in political science from West Virginia University.
His brother, Arthur, of Uniontown, who co-founded the chain and is secretary-treasurer of Gabriel Brothers, said that during their first few years in business, "The company couldn't afford to pay salaries to the principals -- Jim and me."
So Mr. Gabriel made ends meet by teaching political science at Waynesburg College, Penn State University's Fayette Campus and WVU.
Despite a passion for teaching and education, Mr. Gabriel always planned on going into retailing "because we were raised as entrepreneurs and businessmen," said Arthur Gabriel.
The brothers adopted their father's concept of selling brand-name goods at hefty reductions. Most of their stock is acquired at store liquidations or directly from manufacturers who want to get rid of overruns and damaged items.
Gabe's customers -- many of whom shop the stores weekly or even daily so they won't miss a big sale -- don't seem to mind the defects as long as they're buying designer brands like Liz Claiborne, Ralph Lauren or Victoria's Secret for as much as 70 percent off the retail price.
"There's an atmosphere in our stores -- an air of excitement," Mr. Gabriel told the Post-Gazette in a 1991 interview. "We have a very strong following and we draw customers from many miles away."
Mr. Gabriel never retired from the business and worked full time until his illness slowed him down about four months ago, said his brother.
"People wanted to be around him and work for him," said Lori Paletta-Davis, general counsel of Gabriel Brothers. "He walked through our warehouse-distribution center [at the company headquarters] every day and talked to the employees. When there were lines of customers waiting to get into stores, he'd walk through and talk to people."
Mr. Gabriel's three sons work for the company, as do Arthur Gabriel's two sons. But there wasn't total family harmony over the years.
Another of Mr. Gabriel's brothers, Eli, also of Uniontown, joined the family business in the 1970s but split over differences with his brothers and in 1985 opened a rival chain, Gabriel's.
Eli Gabriel filed an antitrust case against Gabriel Brothers in 1994. The suit was settled out of court and the family still declines to discuss it.
In addition to his brothers, Mr. Gabriel's survivors include his wife, Tammer; two daughters, Ann Gabriel, of Philadelphia, and Catherine Gabriel Cummings, of Uniontown; three sons, Gilbert, of Washington, Pa., Paul, of Morgantown, and John, of Uniontown; another brother, Peter Gabriel of Uniontown; two sisters, Ruby Bonney, of Pittsburgh, and Paulette Gabriel, of Philadelphia; and 10 grandchildren.
A Divine Liturgy was held Monday at St. George Maronite Catholic Church, Uniontown. Entombment followed at Sylvan Heights Chapel of Memories Mausoleum, Uniontown.
Memorial contributions may be made to the James R. Gabriel Scholarship Fund at Centra Bank, P.O. Box 656, Morgantown, WV 26507.
First Published: August 10, 2005, 4:00 a.m.