Alexander's Department Store

Our January 2026 Memoir was compiled from public information and personal
 reminiscences about George Farkas and the department store he founded. Dorothy Douma Greene, a former JHSNJ President, had oversight over this Memoir.

George Farkas, the founder of Alexander’s Department store, was born January 31st, 1902 in Paterson, N.J.  Both of his parents were Jewish.  Following is a brief history of the store and its founder.

Mr. Farkas moved from Paterson to Brooklyn as a small child.  His father had a few small dress shops and, as a child, Farkas worked behind the counter.  His father died when he was 16 years old.  In 1924 Farkas found a site for a store in the Bronx and named it “Alexander’s” after his father.  He was a forerunner of the idea of selling copies of designer fashions at a discount.  The Bronx store expanded without too much notice in the 1930’s.  In addition, he was now selling hardware and household items.  Twenty years later he had stores in Westchester, Manhattan, Connecticut and New Jersey - 16 stores at its peak.  In 1992 all the Alexander’s stores were sold.

The store that we are most familiar with was at the intersection of Route 4 and 17 in Paramus.  The Paramus store opened on March 15th, 1962. Farkas originally commissioned Salvador Dali to paint a mural on the facade of the building facing Route 4.  However, after traveling through London’s Heathrow Airport and seeing a mural painted by Stefan Knapp, he decided to commission him instead.  After Alexander’s closed its doors in 1992, most of the 280 panels that were displayed on Route 4 are now residing at various locations throughout the new Valley Hospital campus in Paramus.  (Other tiles are at the Bergen Museum of Art and Science and some were on display at the Art Factory in Paterson.)

Mr. Farkas had many innovative ideas that didn’t exclusively involve retail selling, for instance movie stars often made special appearances at Alexander’s.  Following are comments from some of our members about their experiences and memories of Alexander’s.

In the early 1980’s Alexander’s in Paramus arranged with Serena Wilson, a distinguished dancer, teacher and choreographer of “Oriental dancing, sometimes called “belly dancing,” to give weekly dancing classes in her art in the Alexander’s employees’ lounge. By that point in her career Serena had polished her skills for years at Middle Eastern night clubs in Manhattan such as The Egyptian Gardens. She also operated Serena Studios at 939 Eighth Avenue in Manhattan where she offered instruction in her entertainment style of dancing. Serena also led a dance troupe which performed throughout NYC. She often held “haflas, the Arabic word for “party” or “social gathering” at her studio which featured Middle Eastern delicacies and where her protégés could dance to the sounds of her husband’s dance band. Her spouse was a percussionist who learned Middle Eastern drumming to back up Serena’s performances. At least three Fair Lawn moms, Ann M., “Chickie,” and Ethel Fischell (z”l) participated in Serena’s class at Alexander’s and went on to perform themselves in different venues in their new acquired exotic costumes accompanied by their zills (finger cymbals) which provided reverberating and clanking sounds as needed.

Ilene Greenfield wrote in - My mom worked there, usually in the coats department in the winter.  We used to pick her up late on Friday evenings. Before she drove (she got her license at age 55) she took the bus on Broadway and E 33rd St. by Kanter’s luncheonette, to what used to be a cloverleaf at the intersection of Routes 4 and 17, then walked on the highway overpass to get to work!!! I, too, started working there on Saturdays, in the section where you put prices on merchandise using a machine. Many friends and their parents also held part-time jobs there— in departments such as the men’s pants and shoes.*

When asked about an Alexander’s experience she may have had, Roberta Rubin wrote in and responded: “I didn't shop much at Alexander's, but I do remember getting my first mohair sweater there.”  Remember those?  We wonder if she soon regretted walking around with that imbalance of positive and negative charges on the mohair's surface which built up through friction and contact causing static electricity and minor shocks.
*In 1962, when the minimum wage was $1.15 per hour, Alexander’s was paying $2.00 per hour as a starting wage.