With an elaborate history, including
brothers competing with one another, a
store fire forcing them to temporarily
work for the competition and a major fi-
nancial constraint during the Great
Depression, the Knoppows have managed
to keep their family name on what has
become a profitable enterprise.
Today a chain of 12 wallpaper and
window treatment stores in metropolitan
Detroit, the business is run by Simon's
grandson, Jerry and his wife, Sharon.
Although growth has come mostly since
Jerry's arrival into the business, the Knop-
pows don't forget the person from whom the
idea stems: Uncle Zelig.
Simon liked working with his brother,
Zelig, yet he wanted to be his own boss. So
in 1916, Simon opened his own paint
store. When his family arrived in Detroit,
Simon's son, Isaac, worked in the store
after school.
A fire destroyed the store in the mid-
1920s, forcing Simon and Isaac to work
for a competitor. During this time, Isaac's
brother, Abe, also ventured into the busi-
ness, opening a paint store on the
southwest side of Detroit.
In 1926, Simon opened another store,
facing major problems with the onset of
the Great Depression.
"We made close to nothing," Isaac
recalls. "We had been making $10 a day,
and we made $12 a week during the
Depression."
By 1931, Isaac had opened the store on
Livernois that would later become part of
a chain. Abe and Simon merged opera-
tions. Simon then made aliyah (he died in
Israel) and Abe left the business to dabble
in real estate.
By the 1950s, Isaac established a grow-
ing business, known as the Knoppow
Paint Co., training his son Jerry during
his high school years. A graduate of the
University of Michigan, Jerry wasn't cer-
tain he would rejoin the business.
"But I knew I had to be my own boss,
he says.
The business today is more focused on
wallpaper and window treatments, in-
cluding vertical blinds, shades and other
products. The stores no longer sell paint.
Last year, Knoppow's covered close to
50,000 windows, sold nearly 500,000 rolls
of wallpaper. Jerry Knoppow figures his
business decorated nearly 20,000 rooms.
Yet mine of the Knoppow children has
shown an interest in taking over the
business. Jerry could be the last genera-
tion.
,,
Above:
Isaac Knoppow, nephew
of the company founder,
Zelig, poses outside his
store on Livernois in
Detroit in 1937.
1910
Tailor Sandler Buys
Hand Laundry,
Targets 'Bachelor
Bundle' Market
Julie Sandler can't seem
to let go of the name,
Reliable Linen.
Knoppow's paste brushes and wallpaper swatches.
THE DETROIT JEWISH NEWS
31