Kroch's and Brentano's

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Kroch's and Brentano's

Company type	Private
Industry	Retail
Predecessor	Kroch's Chicago branch of Brentano's
Founded	November 22, 1954; 69 years ago (1954-11-22) in Chicago
Founder	Carl Kroch
Defunct	July 31, 1995; 29 years ago (1995-07-31)
Fate	Bankruptcy
Headquarters	Chicago
Area served	Chicago metropolitan area
Products	Books, magazines

Kroch's and Brentano's was the largest bookstore in Chicago, and at one time it was the largest privately owned bookstore chain in the United States. The store and the chain were formed in 1954 through the merger of the separate Kroch's bookstore with the former Chicago branch of the New York-based Brentano's bookstore.^[1] The chain was closed in 1995 after suffering financial losses from increased competition.