Zimman’s builds on century of success in Lynn

LYNN ? Most shoppers know Zimman’s in Lynn as a high-end furniture and textile store where the aisles are often bustling with interior designers, architects, artists and do-it-yourselfers.It wasn’t always so.Zimman’s turns 100 years old this year, providing occasion to celebrate its colorful history that began in 1909 when the late Morris Zimman arrived in West Lynn from Lithuania at age 19. As family lore goes, Morris Zimman spent a mere two days at a pre-arranged job before managing to cobble together enough wares to sell door-to-door.With an entrepreneurial spirit and grasp of six languages, Zimman was immediately successful. His first door-to-door customer spoke Russian, the second Polish, and the third Yiddish. Two weeks later, Morris opened his first store on River Street.In 1915, he married Anna Abrams and taught her the retail business. A year later, to his wife’s chagrin, he bought a train car filled with unbleached muslin. But Morris sensed he was onto something profitable. At 8 cents a yard, the entire lot sold out quickly. Customers dyed it, sewed sheets and pillowcases, draperies, and sent bolts home to relatives in the Old Country.During the Great Depression, Morris Zimman capitalized on Prohibition by selling the ingredients needed to make distilled beverages at home. He built a separate window counter at his store’s side entrance to sell hops and malts and distilling equipment. He was soon operating 11 such locations. He also began buying goods cheaply at auction or from salvage, such as the fabric retrieved from the ship Robert E. Lee that had sunk in Boston Harbor. The fabric was sold soaking wet at bargain prices.By 1931, he hads relocated the store to McDonough Square. The couple had four sons who worked beside them. On Sundays, they would drive to auctions to purchase merchandise at deep discount.During World War II, one son, Barry Zimman, joined the U.S. Navy after three years of medical school. Discharged in 1946, the young man returned to his retail roots armed with standardized business practices for accounting, budgeting, inventory and advertising – then considered a novel approach. Barry Zimman branched out and opened one of the country’s first self-service department stores. At the time, most shopkeepers displayed their goods under glass, accessible only through a salesperson. Barry Zimman allowed his customers to openly inspect the goods. His brother, Eddie, was already prospering in Lynn, having secured the state’s first liquor license when Prohibition ended and opened the U.S. Liquors store on Union Street.In 1957, Barry Morris moved his department store to the present location of Zimman’s at 80 Market St., a broad avenue and active commercial center in those days, lined with storefronts including Raymond’s, Kennedy’s, Sam’s Town & Tweed, Baby Land, and Tri-City Sales. The business district was surrounded by apartment buildings, the tenants providing a brisk walk-in trade.Barry Zimman, his wife, Phyllis, and their five sons were a constant presence at the store, adhering to the adage that you must be where your business is located.In 1960, at age 70, Morris and Anna Zimman closed their West Lynn store and set up a fabric shop in the basement of their son’s business on Market Street. A wave of urban renewal followed, taking with it the homes of 5,000 residents, many of them customers. Times were tough and made more difficult as customers fled to stores at the North Shore Shopping Center. Many downtown Lynn businesses were forced to close.Morris Zimman died in 1967, but his family was determined to keep the business alive. In the early 1970s, the second floor was converted to an indoor weekend flea market. By then, Barry Morris’ son, Michael, was teaching at Hillel Academy in Marblehead but feeling the retail pull. A graduate of Marblehead High School and Bowdoin College, the third-generation retailer soon realized the family store was actually a warehouse treasure trove of retro products and vinta