Steinbeck’s, A Greenville Institution
Herbert Franklin Steinbeck Sr. came from Rockingham to Greenville, N.C. in 1950 as store manager for J.C. Penny Company prior to opening Steinbeck’s Men’s Shop in March of 1957. Among his many community activities, he was a member of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce, member of Jarvis United Methodist Church, charter member of St James United Methodist Church in Greenville, leader with the Boy Scouts of America, and served as chairman of the Pitt County Republican Party. He passed away on July 18, 1998.
H. Frank Steinbeck Jr. purchased Steinbeck’s Men’s Shop from his father in 1986, having joined the firm prior to his graduation from ECU in 1964.
Originally located on 427 S. Evans Street, the business, like many others in the early 1970s, followed the then up-and-coming trend for relocating to the outlying shopping districts of the city, first at the former Pitt Plaza on Greenville Boulevard and in 1979 to the regionally popular Carolina East Mall.
In August 1989, the business moved again to its current location in Arlington Village at 656 East Arlington Boulevard.
After more than 50 years with Steinbeck’s, Frank Jr. died recently on January 19, 2021.
Nearing its 64th year, Steinbeck’s Men’s Shop continues business today, following Coffman’s Men’s Wear (est. 1956), as Greenville’s second oldest men’s apparel store and one of the oldest of its kind in the state.
Daily Reflector image from January 1962 of Frank Steinbeck Sr., chairman of the Ticket Sales Committees for the Pitt District Scout Exposition displaying a handful of the tickets while surrounded by five Rose High School students.