HAAS BROTHERS - Key Persons

Kalman Haas was born into a poor Bavarian Jewish family of nine. Eager for a better life, he set sail for New York at the age of 19. With nothing but ambition to call his own, Kalman worked as a peddler, selling merchandise in the East. After creating a fair amount of savings for himself, he headed west where he, another newly arrived friend, and more soon-to-be-famous members of the Haas family, would assist in writing the golden history of the American West. The year is 1851; the city, bustling San Francisco; the climate - pure gold! The City by the Bay was aglow with gold galore due to the famous rush of 1849 when Leopold Loupe and Kalman Haas set their sights on its lustrous streets. Loupe, a former peddler himself, partnered with Haas and the two German natives began a general-store variety of business, Loupe & Haas. Together, they supplied groceries on the corner of Davis and California streets. In 1865, love beckoned Loupe to return to Europe where he married and remained.

Job Titles:

• President of the Wine & Spirits Wholesalers of America