Long-time Tampa residents will remember the retailer Maas Brothers. They were a central figure in downtown and then in local malls. The Mass retail legacy in Tampa was widespread and could be confusing, but thanks to Tampapix.com, the history is a little clearer. Brothers Abe and Isaac opened Maas Brothers Dry Goods Palace in the late 1800s, and by 1887, they had moved and called the new store Maas Brothers. Julius Maas, the youngest Maas brother, also had a store at the 700 block of Franklin St., named "Maas the Haberdasher." Ernest Maas was a cousin to Abe and Isaac. They brought him to the U.S. when he was 15 years old and put him to work at their new store, where he worked until 1929.

In 1930, Ernest bought Worth’s ladies' specialty shop at 509 Tampa Street and renamed it Earnest Maas Inc. Ladies Ready to Wear. In 1937, he joined cousins Julius Maas and Julius Weil, owners of Maas the Haberdasher, and their combined stores moved to Franklin and Madison Street. In 1940, Tarr Furniture moved here from their larger store on Lafayette St. By the 1970s, the building housed The Redwood Room and Cocktail Lounge and in the early 2000s, the top floors were renovated and the Spain Lofts opened along with Spain Restaurant downstairs.

http://tampapix.com/maas.htm

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