Edward’s 5 and 10 Cent Store

Edward Kronsberg (1903-1985) was born in Virginia to Ukrainian immigrant Abraham Kronsberg (1879?-1918) and his wife, Lithuanian immigrant Lena Jacobson (1880-1962). After his father’s death in 1918, Lena sent Edward, the eldest son, to Charleston to live with his uncle, Joseph Bluestein, and clerk at Bluestein Brothers on King Street. In 1926, with Joseph’s help he opened Edward’s 5 and 10 Cent Store at 496 King Street. Over the next fifteen years, Edward oversaw openings of stores in Bamberg (1930), Walterboro (1936), Conway (1938), and North Charleston (1947). During the 1930s, his younger brothers, Meyer (1905-1983), Milton (1909-1997), and Macey (1911-2001), all joined the business. In 1949, the flagship store moved from 496 King Street to 517 King Street. The family went on to open 31 additional stores across the state and one in Georgia by 1977, when they sold Edward’s to Big K-Kuhn Brothers of Nashville, Tennessee.