Cotton's

Cotton's

Cotton's was a family-owned department store which operated from 1922 to 2012 at 400 19th Street in downtown Ensley.

The store was opened by Mitchell Cotton, an Estonian immigrant, and his bride, Ida. They handed the business over to their children, Bert and Merle in 1949. Granddaughter Rhonda Weinberg and her husband Harry took over in 1980, with the help of Merle's husband, Howard Schultz.

Cotton's earned a devoted clientele with a combination of quality fashions and good customer service. As the Ensley declined in the wake of the closing of U. S. Steel's Ensley Works, customers continued to drive in from other areas to shop there. Ultimately the "Great Recession" of 2008 made it difficult to keep the store open. The April 2011 tornado outbreak affected many of the stores customers. The Weinberg's finally decided to close in late 2012.

References

• Diel, Stan (October 12, 2012) "Ensley's iconic Cotton's department store to close." The Birmingham News