Joske's
Departments included spurs and saddles; appliances; a travel agency; an Oriental rug gallery; a lending library; a bakery; gourmet foods; books, toys and even a large postage stamp collecting area.
[5] In January 1965, Joske's purchased rival Wolff and Marx with its downtown flagship and North Star Mall locations.
The North Star Mall Wolff and Marx location was replaced in 1969 with a new five-level Joske's, its third San Antonio-area store.
In 1985 Allied Stores consolidated Joske's three Texas divisions—Dallas, Houston and San Antonio—into one central division based in downtown Dallas.
The three independent operating and merchandising staffs in the separate divisions were consolidated into a single, larger unit, and Robert T. Mettler was named president and chief executive officer of the combined organization.
The corporate office was located at its Downtown Dallas store at Main and St. Paul streets, occupying the top three floors of the seven-story building.
In the wake of the Greensboro sit-ins in North Carolina that received wide publicity, desegregation in San Antonio was carried out voluntarily by most eating places in March 1960 after hearing demands from African-American leaders and both black and white churches.
However, after a number of protests and an incident of pushing and slapping, Joske's management changed course and by late summer admitted blacks to all its eating facilities.
The remaining area of the building was converted into lease space and a retail atrium for Rivercenter (which was under construction at the time of the buyout) and an AMC movie theater.
