Dec. 11, 2023

Sioux Falls-based men’s retailer J.H. & Sons just took a big step into the Twin Cities.

There’s now a new storefront in the market’s most upscale mall, Galleria Shopping Center in Edina, where the J.H. & Sons storefront sits alongside the likes of David Yurman, Louis Vuitton and Tiffany & Co.

“It’s a very high bar, and we had to keep that in mind opening this up,” said Jaime Halberstadt, a third-generation member of the family business that his grandfather founded and his father grew to five locations under the name Halberstadt’s Men’s Clothiers, plus one called Lindley’s/Well Suited in Omaha.

Jim Halberstadt founded the business in St. Cloud, Minnesota, in 1975. The first Sioux Falls location opened in 1988.

J.H. & Sons came along for the Halberstadt family in 2015, shortly after Jaime joined the business. The first location opened on Phillips Avenue, then expanded to Omaha before the most recent store in Edina.

“I grew up going to the Galleria,” Jaime Halberstadt said. “And my parents spent the first half of their lives in St. Cloud and were always familiar, growing up in a men’s clothing environment, with the shopping in Minneapolis. They just decided to open their second store in Sioux Falls and not Minneapolis, and we slowly started going to bigger markets. Des Moines, then Omaha, and Minneapolis had always been a consideration, and I think the Galleria was always where we wanted to go, but the timing was never right until now.”

With the closing earlier this year of longtime downtown high-end men’s store Hubert White, the Halberstadts solved their biggest Twin Cities sticking point — staff — in a big way.

Former Hubert White staff Kevin Luedke, Dinh Nguyen and Chuck Simpkins joined J.H. & Sons and now help lead the Galleria store.

“There’s no way we would have opened this without them, and I couldn’t wish for a better staff,” Halberstadt said. “Chuck was there 35 years, Dinh is a master tailor — I’m not exaggerating one of the most skilled tailors in the country — and Kevin was the manager, and this project would not be happening without (them). We were lucky enough to have a space come available (at the Galleria), and it was those two things happening around the same time as the stars aligned.”

Creating a storefront that would complement the others in the shopping center then took on a Sioux Falls tie.

Longtime Halberstadt’s designer Lenae Schwartz, owner of Lenae Design LLC, helped bring the vision together.

“They’ve been great clients. It’s been so much fun to do this, and they continue to want to up the ante on the look and design, and this was their flagship store,” Schwartz said.

Unlike others with an exterior entrance, this storefront faced inside to a mall, creating a different opportunity for design.

“They do a lot of travel and liked the idea of creating it as if you were going into a place in Paris — the details of limestone panels on the front of the store, there’s archways, there’s lighting, there’s a finish that limits gold leaf and cool details we haven’t done in any location,” she said.

Inside, the store moves from casual to formal from front to back, and the finishes adjust accordingly.

“There’s wood floor, a beautiful tile down the center of the space, and then in the back is a big screen with visuals on a loop,” Schwartz said. “It’s a smaller store, so … we have cabinets and casework that actually create areas you walk underneath or through to get further into the store, almost canopies; it gives a nice separation between different areas. The cash wrap is in the center, and all the details were bumped up a notch.”

A wood tile with nailheads on it inspired part of the aesthetic, which includes warm woods and blacks. The lighting is “a little glam,” and the goal was to elevate all the details, Schwartz said.

“They want to create something different than what you’re going to see in most American stores, and I think Jeff has done such a great job with his staff and level of service,” she said. “It’s just really cool to see their success.”

The store opened Dec. 1.

“The storefront is really a showstopper,” Halberstadt said. “Not to say we don’t love our others, but this store is something else. We’re next door to Tory Burch, and they have an incredible storefront. So it’s a high-test situation.”

It’s also a test they seem to be passing.

“When we showed up, it was a reunion with old friends,”  said Joe Zueger, a fellow Sioux Falls entrepreneur and longtime customer who shopped there recently.

“The store is bright, elegant and easy to move around in. It is classy and differentiated, updated from the other great stores in that mall. The layout is great — more casual up front but almost like a shop-within-a-shop in the suit area in the back. As we were leaving, others were showing up and — like us — reconnecting with the staff.”

That’s indicative of the approach the company has taken for years, he added.

“They realize the people aren’t about the stuff as much as the stuff is about the people,” Zueger said. “They say things like, ‘We were talking about you when we saw this at the market and decided to bring this in.’ People before stuff. It’s personal.”

Zueger and his family typify the sort of longtime clientele built by the Halberstadts. He remembers shopping at the original Sioux Falls Halberstadt’s with his father for the dark gray suit and burgundy tie he wore to the job interview that earned him a spot at Andersen Consulting in 1988.

“It was a memorable thing to do with my dad, who always spoke about nicer clothing,” Zueger said. “When they opened J.H. in downtown Sioux Falls, my son was becoming of the age where he wanted to learn more about dressing responsibly and seemed to care about how to dress. We started going there, and now my son has a relationship with Jeff’s son Jaime. So from Jim to Jeff to Jaime, a relationship developed from my dad to me to my son.”

That has been a key to the business’ ability to evolve, Halberstadt said.

“We are fortunate to have attained many lifelong clients over the years,” he said. “I’m thrilled that many of them have introduced their children to our stores and shopping experience. It’s meaningful to be able to be a part of that bonding experience. And now, between our 41st and Louise Halberstadt’s at The Galleria, Halberstadt’s at the Mall in The Empire Mall and J.H. & Sons downtown, we are able to offer a variety of shopping options for these new clients.”

As fashion for men has evolved, so has the Halberstadt’s merchandise mix. Each store reflects its market, so the Galleria store in Edina includes some inventory that isn’t found in other J.H. & Sons stores.

“Hubert White from my view was always this iconic store, one of the best men’s clothing stores in Minneapolis. It was a legacy. (So we need) to make it an easy transition for Chuck, Kevin and Dinh’s clients to start shopping with us and make sure they see some familiar brands,” Halberstadt said.

“The other thing we need to happen is to prove (ourselves) to people who have never heard of us and have no connection through Kevin, Chuck and Dinh because it’s a huge part. The brand mix in the mall could not be better and better suited to our clients, but … there’s so many people coming from Fargo and a ton of our Sioux Falls clients go there. Over opening weekend, I saw 15 people from Sioux Falls who happened to be in that mall. We need to prove we’re a serious player and we can deliver this world-class shopping experience that is on par with stores in New York, Chicago, etc.”

Both Halberstadt and his father still work the floors frequently.

“Our philosophy is you have to be in the lake to catch fish,” Halberstadt said. “If you’re not interacting daily with your clients, how am I supposed to buy for customers if I don’t see it firsthand? That’s how my grandpa always was.”

The Sioux Falls market “has been great,” he added. “It continues to be a strong market that gets better and better every year. We’re picking up new clients who are moving to Sioux Falls weekly, and it’s encouraging not just for our business but for the health of the Sioux Falls economy.”