User:Jfmuldoon/Sandbox

About Muldoon's Men's Wear

In September of 1950, Frank Muldoon opened Muldoon's Men's Wear in the Gateway Shopping Center on South Hastings Way, also known as Business Highway 53, in the middle of open fields. A few trees and lots of sand were our neighbors, no other retail stores. With the exception of Wagner's Bowling Alley, Jimmy Woo's Restaurant, Austin's White House Restaurant, a small grocery store and a gas station (all within a 1/2 mile stretch), we stood alone. Many people laughed. Some said, "Muldoon...you'll never last six months!"

The left half of the store building was a women's beauty salon. Before serving in the Air Force in WWII, Frank was a hairdresser and owned Frank's Beauty Salon in downtown Eau Claire above Edwin's Women's Store. He always felt that a women's beauty salon and a men's store would be a good combination. The right half of the building houses our store. Today, retail stores operate to the north, east and south of us and homes are located to the west (behind our building). Columnist Ann Landers had her hair done at the beauty salon next door. She and her family lived on Valmont Avenue just down the street from us.

In 1968, Frank Muldoon expanded his menswear business into the former beauty salon next door. This wasn't the first expansion however. In 1956 he added on to the back of the building. Our total selling area is around 3000 square feet.