Richs, Jeff Clemmons
Richs, Jeff Clemmons
List: $19.99 | Sale: $13.99
Club: $9.99

Rich's
A Southern Institution

Author: Jeff Clemmons

Narrator: Chris Abernathy

Unabridged: 6 hr 9 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tantor Media

Published: 09/30/2025


Synopsis

The storied history of the iconic Atlanta department store.

In 1867, less than three years after the Civil War left the city in ruins, Hungarian Jewish immigrant Morris Rich opened a small dry goods store on what is now Peachtree Street in downtown Atlanta, Georgia. Over time, his brothers Emanuel and Daniel joined the business; within a century, it became a retailing dynasty. Join historian Jeff Clemmons as he traces Rich's 137-year history.

For the first time, learn the true stories behind Penelope Penn, Fashionata, The Great Tree, the Pink Pig, Rich's famous coconut cake and much more, including how events at the downtown Atlanta store helped John F. Kennedy become America's thirty-fifth president. With an eye for accuracy and exacting detail, Clemmons recounts the complete history of this treasured southern institution.

Reviews

Goodreads review by Brenda on February 18, 2017

This was a very interesting and informative book about the beginning and the end of an important Southern institution started by the Rich family. Having lived in Atlanta since 1959, I was pleased to be able to relive the many special attributes as well some of the sad events that affected the store......more

Goodreads review by Kelei on December 29, 2013

Loved this book for its historical account of the Rich’s department store and its role in the south. Learned so much from this book. Yes, it has lots of details and may be too many date/time place details at times but there were so many historically important things that this departments store did t......more

Goodreads review by michael on February 05, 2018

Good book full of the Rich family history. Still prefer "Dear Store" but a great addition of lore and information for those of us still mourning Rich's demise.......more

Goodreads review by Echo on July 07, 2016

Fascinating history of an Atlanta institution...and my former employer.......more

Goodreads review by Julia on August 12, 2021

Much more interesting that I had expected; I couldn't quit telling my husband bits and pieces of what I had just read. Atlanta was where we were married, and Rich's was my first big-city department store when I was young and yearning to buy beautiful things. Later I was also briefly the Richway copy......more