Hollister
– A longtime downtown clothier filed for bankruptcy protection
Friday, four days after closing its doors to the public following a
57-year run.
Hollister – A longtime downtown clothier filed for bankruptcy protection Friday, four days after closing its doors to the public following a 57-year run.
Dick Bruhn Inc. left a trail of $11.3 million in debt and hundreds of creditors who invested money in the stores founded by Salinas resident Richard L. Bruhn, according to its chapter 11 bankruptcy filing and a letter to investors. Bruhn’s stores in Hollister, Gilroy, Monterey and Salinas closed April 30, though all but the Hollister store are expected to reopen May 18 for a liquidation sale.
Proceeds are expected to net roughly $7 million, according to bankruptcy filings.
“We just don’t know until everything gets bought and processed what will be there,” said William Lewis, a Palo Alto attorney representing the company in bankruptcy court. “You just don’t know. You could end up with significantly more or significantly less. … Our goal here is to maximize the return to creditors. The whole process is intended for that purpose.”
Richard L. Bruhn is a longtime fixture in Salinas society with close relationships to many of the city’s wealthier families, according to Lynne Pickett, 71.
Pickett inherited investments her mother made in Bruhn’s corporation and is still owed nearly $26,000. She is one of at least 400 creditors of the company.
“You’re going to find a lot of old gray-haired ladies” waiting for money, said Pickett, who now lives in Arizona but still has a home in Salinas.
Dick Bruhn opened his Hollister store on San Benito Street as part of the company’s regional chain in the 1970s. It sold both men’s and women’s clothing and also offered tuxedo rentals. The company’s tuxedos and other formal wear account for the lion’s share of the company’s estimated $7 million in assets.
The U.S. Bankruptcy Court of the Northern District of California, in San Jose, is expected to decide Thursday if the company can proceed with its liquidation sale.
Serdar Tumgoren is senior staff writer for the Gilroy Dispatch. Reach him at 408-847-7109 or stumgoren@
gilroydispatch.com.
