his clothing company , originally located on 25th Avenue before moving into the Rosenbaum Building on Fifth Street in 1898 , according to a National Register of Historic Places nomination form .
“ It began as a men ’ s clothing store that eventually added ladies and and kids . They actually even had Boy and Girl Scout uniforms ,” Loeb said . “ They had another building behind them that they called the Alex Loeb Annex which catered to the railroad men that came through here . Meridian was a huge railroad town , so they had all of the uniforms for the railroad .”
Alex Loeb Inc . eventually grew into a full-fledge department store and in 1926 moved into a yellow brick building on Fifth Street , located between 21st and 22nd avenues . The building , still a fixture on the block , was listed on the national register in 1979 .
Stories paint Alex as being well dressed , courteous and amiable to his customers , the latter a trait well known in his great-grandson .
“ I didn ’ t know my great-granddad … but I ’ ve always heard that he a cigar with him all of the time and he had a white mustache and he wore round , rim glasses ,” Loeb said . “ They lived close to
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LOEB ’ s Inc . carries the STANTT Custom Clothing line which offers customers custom shirts , pants and suits tailored specifically for them . downtown , a lot of merchants used to back then , because they would walk to work , and he was known to be very hospitable , very welcoming to his customers and was real involved in doing things around Meridian .”
By the 1950s , Alex Loeb Inc . was a landmark along Fifth Street , known for its luxurious decor and a wide selection of merchandise from high-end women ’ s fashions to fine jewelry to top-quality men ’ s suits .
The department store would eventually be operated by Alex ’ s son , A . Marshall Loeb , and then pass to his sons , Robert S . Loeb Sr . and Alex Loeb , a third generation to run the family business . In the 1970s , the two brothers sold their interest in the department store and acquired the old Marks-Rothenberg Department Store , operating it until it was sold to a national retailer .
During high school , Loeb worked in the family store , but never really gave much thought about entering the family business . After graduating from Meridian High School in 1970 , he quickly headed to the University of Memphis on a track scholarship .
“ I loved running , and I guess I was fast enough to get some offers ,” he said . “ And I loved what the University of Memphis had to offer . They had great facilities , a good coach , and I had four good years running track there . I loved it up there .”
He went on to earn a bachelor ’ s degree in business administration from the university , graduating in 1974 and taking a job with James Davis , a family-owned men ’ s clothing store in Memphis , Tennessee , where he first began thinking about a career in the clothing business .
“ I was in Memphis at James Davis . It was a family business , and I got to where I was really enjoying the business and learning all about clothes and about the business ,” Loeb recalled . “ Mr . Davis and my dad both kind of said , ‘ you need to go learn from a big store . They ’ ll teach you things that we ’ re not sure how to do .’”
So , Loeb began applying at larger , established department store chains and ended up at Parisian Inc . in Birmingham , Alabama .
“ They put me in a training program , and they taught you about how to manage people , how to run a department , how to hire ,” he said . “ Then in the buying office , they taught you all the numbers part of it , how to treat your manufacturers . It was a great training program . They were an awesome place to work .”
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