Sears - Roebuck Store | Discount Liquor

Sears and Roebuck Co. was founded in 1886 and opened a store in Waukesha in February of 1932 at 280 W Main St, just east of the 5-Points. At some point they opened a second farm store at 220 W. Main St. However, the store most remembered locally is the building at 919 N. Barstow St. Sears remained in the Barstow St. location until 1977 and this is the location of Discount Liquor today.

The first Sears store in Waukesha opened in 1932. By 1948, a new location for Sears had been found which, according to then manager Roland H Goldammer, was necessary or the store would possibly have to leave Waukesha. To accommodate the new store, two houses along Barstow with a total of 6 tenant families were given notice to vacate by July 31st, 1950.

Construction was delayed with a government ban on non-defense building in January of 1951, but was underway by April of 1951. The building was opened on December 6th, 1951 after a rush to complete the building for the holidays. The new three floor store included a basement for storage and two floors of retail space. All of the departments were able to be enlarged and a mail order department was added.

Some local memories from the store:

I think of the Sears store in Waukesha as an appliance store, but they also carried men’s work clothes, furniture, and home furnishings. The added floor space in the new store allowed them to add paint, sporting goods, men’s furnishings, hardware, auto accessories and lighting fixtures.

I remember my grandfather walking to Sears every Friday night to use their radio tube tester, hurrying home by 9 pm with a bag of popcorn from the shop on the 5-Points to watch boxing on TV.

Sears closed their Waukesha store on June 7, 1977 when, like other major retailers, they changed their focus to promoting their mall stores at Brookfield Square and Southridge. By July, all traces of Sears had been removed. The large Sears sign suspended on the front of the building was taken down and the extensive signage painted on the brick walls had been sandblasted into history.

Waukesha Historical Society and Museum. Business Books Waukesha County. Volume S-So. F 587.624.W2 B85.