Major Expansion at Levinsky's Means Return of Popular 'Bargain Basement' for Customers

Portland Retailer Doubles in Size as Show of Confidence in Downtown Revitalization

Levinsky's, one of Portland's best-known retail institutions, has brought back its popular Bargain Basement as part of a major expansion of its Congress Street store. The store now extends a full city block front to back, has doubled in size and features a new second entrance at 85 Free Street.

"We want to get back to our roots and what we are known for, so we felt bringing back the Bargain Basement is the way to go," said owner Eric Levinsky, the grandson of the store's founder, Jacob Levinsky, who opened his first store in 1919. "The Bargain Basement concept was so popular with customers from our old store that we decided to build a major expansion around the concept. And so far so good. Sales are up."

Levinsky's, which is known for selling brand names at a discount - not seconds as in the outlet stores - has been a Portland retail institution for more than 80 years. The store is open seven days a week and offers free parking at the Civic Center parking garage across Free Street from the new entrance. The Bargain Basement opened to customers earlier this week.

The store moved from its longtime location at 278 Congress Street in 1997 after a reorganization. The store made a remarkable comeback at its present location at 516 Congress Street, however, and has been profitable each year since the reorganization, Levinsky said.

"We made the decision this spring to expand so that we could complete construction before the summer visitors began coming to Portland," he added. "We are also strong believers in downtown Portland's revitalization. It's been a great location for us."

The new expansion increased the store from 5,000 to 10,000 square feet. The Bargain Basement will have the same hours as the main store - Monday through Saturday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Levinsky's carries brands such as Levi's, Lee, and other designer labels, and will carry national brands in the new Bargain Basement section, Levinsky added.

To expand the store, several walls were removed and new flooring, doors and shelving were installed. The store also improved customer flow and took steps to increase speed at the checkouts.

"An unexpected bonus for our customers has been that by opening up that wall and expanding back to Free Street, we created twice as much light," Levinsky said. "The end result is the entire store now has a totally different, fresh look."

Levinsky's also has a store in the Windham Mall, located off Route 302 in North Windham.

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