Stadiem Duprees is a generational one, the story of a business handed down to sons over the span of a century. Its building is a landmark, proudly standing in Kinston’s downtown on the same spot where Hyman Stadiem first opened a clothing store in 1903. The Greensboro native, barely out of his teens, chose Kinston for its potential and for its central location among eastern North Carolina towns. I
n 1934, just as the country was rounding the corner of the Great Depression, Hyman handed control of the store to young sons Jacob & David. The store’s 35,000 square feet hold a large selection of men’s, boys’, & childrens apparel men's, women, & childrens shoes & infant furniture. Stadiem include free alterations, often done while the customer waits, and home delivery of infant furniture, even well outside the Kinston area. Though the store is looking ahead, it has also retained its Boy Scout uniform items and camping gear. Stadiem has been a distributor for the Scouts since 1920, and one can easily imagine a father of that era bringing in a son to be fitted for a scout uniform or his first suit, and that son coming back with his own child, years later.
“We’ve had a nice loyal following over the years,” says Hyman. “We have a fourth generation trading with us.”
