Don Flesch Gives a Tour of the Iconic 111 Year Old Chicago Store: Central Camera

The oldest camera store in Chicago was founded at the end of the XIXth century and three generations of the same family stood behind its counter. Central Camera, in downtown Chicago, is a piece of history all by itself. Lesphotographes.com had the chance to meet with Don Flesch, the current owner and grandson of the founder. He takes us on a tour of what was photography way before pixels arrived.

How did the store begin?

My grandfather started the store. He was a Hungarian, born in 1878. We’re Jewish and when a Jewish boy reaches 13 he is considered a man. At 13, the Hungarian government would make a boy go into the army for 25 years minimum, without any chance of raising rank – you were just a solider.  But if war came, the Jewish boys were moved to the front and were the first ones to get hurt or killed.

My grandfather was the oldest son and his father said, “Joseph, you’ve got to go. We’ve got a cousin in Chicago, you’re going there.” He left his home and walked with a young woman who was leaving her family also and their family. Finally, after trains and cars, he got to the west side of Italy, down the arm.  He took a banana boat into New York harbor, just before it became Ellis Island.  He arrived in Chicago in 1891, when he was 13 years old.

Basically, eight years later, when he was 21, he started the store. Why did he want to open a camera store?

Like everyone else, he worked during the day and went to school at night. The day work, after a few jobs, he was with a company on State Street, called Seagull Cooper; it was a department store. After a couple years of Seagull Cooper, he was asked to go into the camera department because he was meticulous. He stayed there until 1898 and photography was an infant but there was still a lot to learn, as far as chemistry and mixture and light. So he learned it there and then asked for permission to leave and begin his own business.

He formed a relationship with two other men. One partner was an optometrist and the other person had musical objects, but everything was under the Central Camera name.

The store opened in 1899. Within the ending of the first year, the two partners decided to leave, but grandpa decided to keep doing what he knew how to do.

He began looking for a bigger store by 1907?

From Adams Street he went to Walbash. It was much larger than what he had previously. He brought with him two ladies, who had long Polish names that had been shortened: one was Miss B. and the other lady was Miss K.  Miss K. had a child, named Evelyn.  The father left the family, so my grandpa oversaw and made sure the family was fine.  Miss K. worked here until 1949, and then her daughter started in 1950 and worked until 1999.  Those two ladies covered 97-98 years out of the first 100 years.

Did the store cater only to professionals?

No, there were families too.  Kodak started in the late 1890s.  You would pay one dollar for 100 shots – which was a lot of money, but you got 100 pictures in black and white, of course.  After shooting, you sent the camera back to Rochester, New York, and they developed it, put a new roll of film in it and sent it all back.  That cost another dollar.  You didn’t have to load, deal with chemicals, or anything.  You just enjoyed shooting.

We’ve always catered to every type of customer: family, students, old, young…it makes no difference.

Where did the cameras come from at this point in time?

From all over: they were French, German, and English.  Except for Kodak. Kodak was a tough company because they didn’t want a dealer to carry any other merchandise except their own.  Grandpa didn’t agree with that. Kodak closed him down 17-20 times.  When they wouldn’t ship to him, he would go to a neighbor and say, “ Call Kodak, become an agent. I’ll tell you what to buy. I’ll buy it, pick it up, and I’ll give you a fee for doing this for me.” Then Kodak would find out and close that man down too.  This went on for a number of years.

Who owned the business after your grandfather?

My uncle came to work here after finishing university. In 1926 my father had to quit university, because the business was slowing and the recession was coming. My grandfather died in 1933, then my father and uncle officially took over.

The store moved here in 1933, from just one block away. They boxed up all the small things, then hired 70-80 men who stood in a line and handed boxes from one to the next, until it got to the new store.

When did you begin running the business?

I would come here after school and on Saturdays with my father. We weren’t open on Sundays – that was a family day. I started staying in the summers. I went away to university, but wanted to be here, so I came back.

My father died in 1983 and I took over at 50%.  I was always doing all the buying and marketing of the merchandise for my father and uncle, but they were older at that point. I was happy to tell my father: “Go take the afternoon off. Go for a walk.” I basically took over the store in 1990 and my uncle died in 1993.

Since taking over, how has the business evolved, especially with digital cameras entering the market?  Did you get new customers?

The first thing that happened was the camera sellers and manufacturers decided to sell to the mass merchants.  So, now there was a lot more competition from different levels – like from big stores that I say are open eight days a week. Secondly, the prices got lower.  And finally, besides the camera stores, you could also go to drugstores to get the film developed.

In the face of competition from other chain stores, how did your independent store survive?

We believe in that one major way of getting people excited to come to your store, besides reputation, is the price. Price is very important. People might say, “I want service,” but they are still thinking about finding the lowest price.  We’ve always known what our competition does – we study newspapers during the day and ads on the weekend.

We believe in having a good selection, departments and a knowledgeable staff.

How many people are on staff?

The total is about 27-28.  It’s like a big family.

What is the most important thing you seek when hiring sales people?

Knowledge, desire, and honesty. They have to feel good about themselves – like they are smiling from the inside. Confidence is important too.  Everyone makes a solid wage per hour; there isn’t any commission.  We have an end of the year bonus to thank them for working hard, or raises throughout the year if we can afford it.

You’ve felt a slow-down in the sales recently?

Yes, cameras are the main things. Customers who already have a camera ask themselves: “Do I really need a second camera?” And customers without a camera ask themselves: “What else do I really need?” They both decide they can live without a new camera.

A retailer’s difficulty is how to stimulate the consumer’s need, and if not need, their want.  So, you look to help from your suppliers. Right now, they can’t give many answers though.

Do you know everything that you have in the store?

Pretty much. I go through every sales ticket every day to see what was sold. Then there is the deciding of what to buy, what we need to fill up on.  I’m also downstairs every day working with customers and sales people.

And finally, do you like photographing?

Yes, but simply.  I wasn’t in it to take pictures. I was in it for the science and learning – much like my grandfather.

Interview and photos by MF in Chicago, transcript by LG