Moe’s Liquor Store

Moe Levy (1899-1974) was a Russian immigrant who moved to Columbia with his mother, Sarah Levy (1866-1936), in 1906. Moe’s father, Joseph Levy (1864-1947), had immigrated to Columbia in the early 1900s, saving money to pay for his family to join him. In 1920, Moe opened his first store, called Moe Levy’s Army Store, located at 1302 Assembly Street. In 1935, Moe opened his second business, Moe’s Liquor Store (or Moe Levy’s Liquor Store), at 1328 Assembly Street. By 1942, Moe along with his wife, Florence Hirshman Levy (1907-2013), had opened a third business called Reliable Loan Office, operating at 1326 Assembly Street. Around that time, Moe moved his liquor store next to Reliable Loan at 1325 Assembly Street. In the early 1950s, Moe renovated his property at 1302 Assembly Street and by 1953 had moved all three businesses to the same location. The stores had three separate storefronts and addresses: Moe Levy’s Army store at 1300 Assembly, Moe’s Liquor Store at 1302, and Reliable Loan Office at 1304. Moe’s Liquor Store closed around 1970, and Moe moved another of his businesses called Britches Brew into the 1302 Assembly Street address.