Samzie’s, a Flemington mainstay for just short of 40 years, will close the doors of its Main Street store for the last time today.
When the late Samuel Zelansky, the original “Sam Z,” founded the business in 1942, it was known as an Army-Navy store where workclothes were sold.
The “Army-Navy” name was strictly generic, according to Joseph Belets, Zelansky’s son-in-law and former owner, “because we never had any surplus or second-hand merchandise.”
“We catered to farmers,” he adds, “who came to town in droves to go to the egg market.” The store’s busiest hours in those days were between 8 o’clock in the morning and noon, he says.
Over the years, the character of Flemington and the world in general changed, “and we had to go with the times,” Belets says, so sportswear and accessories were added as the store itself expanded.
As if to come full circle, the Main Street store had again become a workclothes and uniform store in 1977, when Samzie’s opened a menswear shop in the Flemington Mall. And just incidentally, yesteryear’s utilitarian denim work pants became today’s fashion boom.
The store in the mall will remain, emphasizes Pauline Belets; only the workclothes-uniform shop will move from Flemington to Ewing Township. A number of Samzie’s customers for those lines are in the Trenton area, her husband adds.
As it always has been, Samzie’s is a family business. Reba Zelansky, widow of the founder, still is actively involved, along with Joseph and Pauline Belets and their son Jeff and their son-in-law Paul Warren.
“We’re training the grandchildren right now,” Belets says, but he quickly adds that they are barely school age.
The family is sad to leave Main Street, Belets says, and apparently many customers share their feeling. Their tears have been shed especially as they bade “good-bye” to Mrs. Zelansky, he says.
“We really regret leaving Main Street,” Mrs. Belets said this week, “but we will continue our good image in the community
Samzie’s Opens Doors on Scotch Road After 40 Years in Flemington (1981)
-Taken from The Democrat in Flemington NJ, 1981
Samzie’s, a Flemington mainstay for just short of 40 years, will close the doors of its Main Street store for the last time today.
When the late Samuel Zelansky, the original “Sam Z,” founded the business in 1942, it was known as an Army-Navy store where workclothes were sold.
The “Army-Navy” name was strictly generic, according to Joseph Belets, Zelansky’s son-in-law and former owner, “because we never had any surplus or second-hand merchandise.”
“We catered to farmers,” he adds, “who came to town in droves to go to the egg market.” The store’s busiest hours in those days were between 8 o’clock in the morning and noon, he says.
Over the years, the character of Flemington and the world in general changed, “and we had to go with the times,” Belets says, so sportswear and accessories were added as the store itself expanded.
As if to come full circle, the Main Street store had again become a workclothes and uniform store in 1977, when Samzie’s opened a menswear shop in the Flemington Mall. And just incidentally, yesteryear’s utilitarian denim work pants became today’s fashion boom.
The store in the mall will remain, emphasizes Pauline Belets; only the workclothes-uniform shop will move from Flemington to Ewing Township. A number of Samzie’s customers for those lines are in the Trenton area, her husband adds.
As it always has been, Samzie’s is a family business. Reba Zelansky, widow of the founder, still is actively involved, along with Joseph and Pauline Belets and their son Jeff and their son-in-law Paul Warren.
“We’re training the grandchildren right now,” Belets says, but he quickly adds that they are barely school age.
The family is sad to leave Main Street, Belets says, and apparently many customers share their feeling. Their tears have been shed especially as they bade “good-bye” to Mrs. Zelansky, he says.
“We really regret leaving Main Street,” Mrs. Belets said this week, “but we will continue our good image in the community