Long before big-box stores, Huntington had Amsbary’s: a place where good taste and holiday cheer never went out of style.
By James E. Casto
HQ 132 | WINTER 2026
For decades, Amsbary’s was a must-stop for smart dressers or savvy Christmas shoppers looking for the perfect gift.
The name Amsbary first emerged in Huntington’s retail community in 1926, when Loren Amsbary — universally known as “Jake” — and H.L. Johnson took over a men’s haberdashery located in a small room off the lobby of the Frederick Hotel. The business was something less than an overnight success; in the store’s earliest years, the two men ran it by themselves.
“We couldn’t afford any help,” Amsbary recalled. “Many were the days when neither of us could leave the store for lunch. I began to carry my own. Even then I’d sometimes go the whole day and never get the chance to eat it.”
But over the years, the business prospered and eventually moved to a storefront location at 321 10th St. Johnson retired in the early 1940s, but his name remained above the door — a nod to friendship and shared beginnings. Amsbary retained Johnson’s name on the store even after Johnson’s passing. In time, the business would become known simply as Amsbary’s.
As the inventory grew, so did the need for space. Amsbary’s expanded into two adjacent storerooms, but by the 1970s, the store was again short on space. In 1978, Amsbary’s relocated half a block north to a historic three-story building on the corner of Third Avenue and 10th Street, last occupied by a W.T. Grant store.
“We adopted a ‘be nice to everybody’ policy,” noted Amsbary in 1978. “We’d watch our customers’ cars; we’d watch their babies. The personal touch paid off so gradually things improved. You know, I don’t think we ever really had a bad day.”
Beginning in the early 1960s, Amsbary’s sons Joe and David began working side by side with their father. Joe, the older of the two, could most often be found taking care of customers in the expansive suit department while David spent most of his time in the 321 Shop, a mainstay in young men’s fashion in the Tri-State for decades.
In the early 1980s, the store continued to expand to the newly built Huntington Mall and Charleston Town Center.
When Amsbary died in 1986 at the age of 84, he was survived by his wife Margaret, sons Joe and David and daughters Joanna Brennan and Margaret McGarrity. He was remembered fondly by a bevy of associates.
“He was one of the pillars in downtown Huntington,” said Robert Glick, retired owner of Star Furniture, at the time.
“I never heard anything but compliments about the man,” noted Clarence W. Stuart, a retired executive of Stone & Thomas. “In addition to being a good citizen, he was a good merchant. He probably had one of the best men’s clothing stores in the state.”
Following Amsbary’s passing, his sons Joe and David continued operating the store for another six years before it eventually closed for good.
“The store has been closed for over 30 years, and I still have people stop me on the street to tell me they bought their first suit or got their wedding tuxedo from my family,” said David’s son, David Amsbary Jr., a Huntington attorney and the current president of the West Virginia State Bar. “I run into people who make a point to tell me that my father or Uncle Joe gave them their first job, mentored them in business and sales or just taught them how to treat people. It is a very gratifying legacy they built over many years.”
The corner building that Amsbary’s moved to in 1978 was built in 1915 by Huntington merchant and civic leader Sam Gideon. It was designed by Edwin Alger, one of the city’s best-known architects of the day, in the then-popular Arts and Crafts style. When the Amsbarys acquired the building in the ’70s, they undertook extensive renovations to turn the building into a first-rate clothing store on three floors, complete with a new elevator, an escalator and fashions for men and women, formal wear, shoes and outerwear. Large wooden panels were installed to cover the upper windows of the building, providing a more modern look as well as protecting the merchandise from fading from direct sunlight.
When Dr. Joseph B. Touma, who has restored several downtown properties, purchased the building, he removed the panels to restore the structure’s original appearance. Now renamed Town Center Plaza, the building is home to multiple tenants including law firms, insurance agents and women’s retail.
Joe passed away in November 2018, survived by his wife Jenny. David passed a year later in November 2019, survived by his wife Ann.
Though the store is now gone, a reminder of the impact of Amsbary’s remains to this day in the Amsbary and Johnson Scholarship, established at Marshall University in 1971 in honor of the victims of the Marshall Football plane crash. The scholarship benefits students interested in pursuing a career in business.
