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Private company

Dawahares

American clothing store chain

Dawahares was an American retail clothing department store chain. Srur Frank Dawahare, a Syrian immigrant who arrived in the U.S. with only five dollars, Dawahare eventually walked from Harlan to Letcher County as a pack peddler. He established the original Dawahare’s Department Store in Neon around 1918, a business that anchored the town's economy for 71 years and grew into a significant regional chain.2 It ceased to exist in 2012.1 Wikipedia text CC BY-SA 4.0

Last updated Oct 21, 2026.

Overview

1907Founded1
  • Industryretail1
  • HeadquartersLexington1

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Dawahares family
Photo: Unknown author Unknown author, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons4

Dawahares (pronounced DAW-hairs) was an American retail clothing department store chain.2

The story

Dawahares was founded in 1918 in Neon, Kentucky, by Srur Frank (S. F.) Dawahare, an immigrant from Syria, and remained within the family for four generations.

In 1979, the company expanded into the Cincinnati, Ohio market by acquiring the five-store Martin's Town & Country chain. The chain operated nearly 30 stores in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Ohio.

It declared bankruptcy in 2008 and liquidated its 22 remaining stores.

From Wikipedia’s article on Dawahares, shared under CC BY-SA 4.0.3

Products and brands

Listed on Wikidata.1

Timeline

  1. 2012Dissolved Dissolved1
  2. 1907Founded Founded1

Sources

The numbers on this page point here. Each one links to the record it came from.

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