This entry refers to a departed business that has closed or left town. All information here is for historical reference only.

 

Interior mall entrance to Gottschalks

Location
875 Russell Blvd. #2 (in University Mall)
Hours
Mon-Fri 10:00AM-8:00PM
Sat 10:00AM-7:00PM
Sun 11:00AM-6:00PM
Phone
(530) 753-9909, 800-457-7735
Website
http://gottschalks.com

Gottschalks is like a mini version of Macy's. Not the place to buy stuff if you're poor1. It's right next to Cost Plus World Market, which is where Harvest Market used to be. The Fresno-based department store was established in 1904. The Davis store opened around the year 2000.

They filed bankruptcy in January 2009, and shortly afterward, Gottschalks was sold to liquidators and all of the stores prepared to close. Their going out of business sales began in April 2009. Gottschalks closed its Davis store June 30, 2009.

You often saw people walking around here as they waited for their food to be cooked at the Old Teahouse or Ohana Hawaiian BBQ.

They had a decent selection of basic items, but they were not big enough to replace the need to go to Macy's or Nordstrom in Sacramento for people who like that kind of a thing. For guys, it was a good place to buy a quick set of dress clothes. They did sell underwear and socks here, though.

1. With the exception of Thrift Stores it was probably the least expensive place to buy clothing in Davis. However the clearance rack at The GAP is also full of value-priced merchandise that probably was never in the regular stock in the first place.

2. It was worthwhile to pay attention to discounts at Gottschalks, as something was almost always on sale. If you thought there might be an applicable coupon all you had to do was ask the cashier. They'd give you the discount regardless of whether or not you brought in a coupon. —EyadDarras

Forever 21 signed a lease for this location and opened a brand new store in the former Gottschalks space.

This location was previously a Payless Drug Store.

Comments:

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Did anyone else notice something strange about their 800 phone number? I notice these things right off. —SteveDavison

2007-06-15 12:31:05   GOTTSCHALKS IS AWESOME. —rivas

2007-06-15 12:32:12   What's strange about their 800 phone number? —rivas

2007-07-28 21:10:21   Could we have any worse luck?? Why are we stuck with a Gottschalks of all shopping centers? I'm not a big dept. store person but this place is really bad. You'd think Davis residents would start demanding a better wanna-be Macy's since we have so few places to buy clothes, etc. Everything I've ever bought here has fallen apart. —GradStudent06

2007-11-11 21:06:26   Went there for the first time today and bought a cute jacket. It is on the expensive side, and it is small, but it's at least something. —kthrnngo

2008-02-08 11:39:17   I love this place...there are always sales going on cute stuff. LOVE IT! —tgdavis

2008-11-27 00:04:25   They had earrings on sale for $0.99! I bought like 5 pairs of earrings. —vietgirlwithappetite

2009-01-10 21:04:02   The women's department has a lot of crap styles but it is always worth weeding through if you do not have time to drive to Sac, simply because of the sales. —G.L.

2009-01-14 11:40:13   Bankrupt! —KcCody

2009-01-25 16:34:55   I also would like to know what is strange about their 800 phone number...steve? —EricaMacGregor

2009-01-25 19:37:22   So now that Gottschalks is going out of business and we're gonna have a Target soon to take care of all our apparel needs, can we put a Trader Joe's where Gottschalks is now? Isn't that the perfect solution to all of Davis's problems? —OscarSabino

2009-01-25 20:40:54   Is it certain that they are going out of business? I had heard only that they had declared bankruptcy, which of course is not the same thing. —CovertProfessor

2009-01-25 21:07:41   According to their website it is only Chapter 11 (can I say that saying a large retailer is "only" going bankrupt is a bit unnerving?) —AndrewPeake

2009-03-31 01:52:56   The chain is apparently going to be liquidated. However, a potential buyer from China may have emerged. Purchase by another entity might save the chain. See http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20090327/ARTICLES/903279964/1016/SPORTS0401?Title=Chinese-retailer-bids-to-keep-bankrupt-Gottschalks-alive —IDoNotExist

  • That article is several days old. The Chinese buyer did not work out and the chain is dead. —MaxLucas

2009-03-31 07:06:17   See yesterday's (apparently) Fresno Bee Article for confirmation. —RyanMikulovsky

2009-03-31 09:27:17   Maybe a grocery store will occupy that space again at some point in the future, as Safeway used to be? A grocery store near there would be much more convenient for people in that part of Davis than a discount clothing store, unless of course, they find that they run out of fresh discount clothing on a weekly basis... —IDoNotExist

  • See OscarSabino's comment above. It should be made to happen.
  • But it'd compete with the food co-op and if I wanted a trader joe's I'd have moved to sacramento by now (but obviously I don't. and I don't think I am the only one in davis who thinks this way) —il
  • Well an alternative then would be to build vertically on the spot and invite a multi-story Super Wal*Mart to move in.
    • That'd be Chico Natural Foods vs Trader Joes all over again! Interestingly, CNF said that they thought their store catered to a different demographic. But I'm not so certain about that. They're surviving but it helps that Chico's Trade Joes is on the other side of town. Interesting in any case and if I recall correctly already debated over on related pages here on Davis Wiki. —RyanMikulovsky

2009-03-31 16:03:29   Shops like Trader Joes do cater to a different demographic. While I don't know what Trader Joes targets per se, Whole Foods (which seems like it targets a similar demographic) places its stores in neighborhoods with a median income of over $50,000. The stores in Davis are largely those that target a student demographic, which generally doesn't have as much disposable income. —IDoNotExist

  • The prices at Trader Joe's are often surprisingly good, and sometimes cheaper than what you'd find in a regular supermarket. They negotiate deals with companies to sell products under the Trader Joe's label for a cheaper price. I imagine that they might very well compete with the Co-op, though I can't say for sure. I do think that students who live across from the U Mall would find lots of good buys there, if it were to move in. —CovertProfessor
  • Trader Joe's stores are notoriously small. They are much smaller than a regular supermarket. It is sort of drug store sized. They have a variety of specialty foods, but their weakness is produce. They have a small selection of produce, but a lot of it is packaged in plastic. It is not exactly the freshest and all of the plastic is wasteful. —MaxLucas

2009-04-30 17:22:23   Anyone know what the store is currently marked down at? —ChristineLim

  • I was just there yesterday. Almost everything is 30% off, but there are a couple of things at 60%. And a lot of the most popular sizes of certain items are already sold out.
  • The ads on TV this morning said "30-70% off" and listed many different items at 40% off (I don't remember all the details, but it was a lot of the clothes and housewares). I worked for a department store that went through this about six years ago - Troutman's Emporium - and I can say from my experience the prices will not get really low until right before they close permanently. The highest percentage, in this case currently 70% off, is usually only offered on the extremely out of season merchandise that would normally be offered at such a low price this time of year for normal clearance sales. Liquidators are in the business of making money, not giving consumers good prices, and they will charge as much as possible as long as possible. The going out of business sales are a bit misleading for the savings people think they are getting, in my experience. —StaceyEllis

2009-04-30 18:13:10   they had better sales before they went bankrupt —EricaMacGregor

2009-06-15 17:39:17   Heard today that they will get everything out by the end of the month. Also heard that Forever21 will take over— can you just imagine the swarm of girls if this rumor is true? I can. —geezlouisexyz

2009-07-06 02:30:19   I so hope it is going to be a forever 21, and hopefully it will be a branch that sells the mens line of clothing. —ThUn

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