Quigley's


Quigley's was a chain of variety stores and junior department stores in Los Angeles County, California, from 1936-1990.
In 1936, Roger Bemis Quigley retired from his job at Woolworth's and opened the first Quigley's near the corner of Sunset and Fairfax. It was located north of what is today the border of West Hollywood. At the time, there was little competition from supermarkets for the types of products sold by variety stores. Quigley's slogan was "Basic merchandise at a reasonable price."
In 1948, Quigley's was owned and operated by R. B. Quigley, J. H. Quigley, and W. S. Manning.

Expansion

Stores were opened as follows:
City/neighborhoodLocation Opened Notes Source
Hollywood7916 Sunset Bl. at Fairfax Av.First listed in the phone directory in the 1930s
Los Feliz1815 N. Vermont Av.by 1947
Westchester8816 S. Sepulveda Bl.1953The building was part of Bed Bath & Beyond through 2021.
Burbank1611 W. Verdugo Av. at OliveStaff of 20 in 1948,
Windsor Hills4435 W. Slauson Av.
Van Nuys6711 Van Nuys Bl. at Vanowen
Long BeachPlaza, 6428 E. Spring St.
Sherman OaksChase Knolls, 13401 Riverside at Fulton. Closed in 1990.
LakewoodCarwood, 4240 Woodruff at Carson
Belmont Shore5026 E. Second St.8th store upon opening, 4th store in Long Beach-Lakewood area
DowneyDowney Shopping CenterAfter 1961
Azusa305 E. GladstoneAfter 1961

The last store, Sherman Oaks, closed in 1990; a location in Seal Beach, on Seal Beach Boulevard at the Seal Beach Leisure World retirement village, was in that year sold to that branch's manager and continued for a short time under the Quigley's name. Despite Quigley's calling itself a department store over the years, the Los Angeles Times put it squarely in the category of variety store. The newspaper reported that the staff prided itself on the slogan, "If you can’t find it any place else, Quigley’s has it."
Quigley's department store, in Belmont Shore and the Plaza, was mentioned by the readers of columnist Tim Grobaty, writing in the Long Beach Press-Telegram, as being among the places most missed in Long Beach.