Fred Kaufman couldn’t always find clothing to fit his 6-foot frame, so he turned his Englewood men’s clothing store into one that sold clothes only for big and tall men.
He also realized that with the advent of large shopping centers, he needed a niche.
Kaufman’s Tall & Big Men’s Shop has been in business in the same block for 52 years.
Kaufman died Feb. 8 from complications of diabetes and heart problems. He was 79.
The store, at 3395 S. Broadway, became the place to go for tall men, many of them basketball and football players and many of those from out of town.
“He was a great guy,” said former Denver Bronco Mark Cooper of Denver. “It’s like socializing and visiting with your friends when you go to Kaufman’s.”
The store, which originally was across the street from its current location, catered to all apparel needed by a man: casual or dressy suits, shirts, shoes, socks, tuxedos, swim trunks and ski jackets.
“Men hate to shop, so this is the perfect place,” said Cooper. The store sells clothes made for men who are at least 6 feet tall and 200 pounds, said Fred Kaufman’s son, Sam, who now runs the shop.
Ever the salesman, Fred Kaufman often told a customer who just bought something, “You couldn’t have spent money on a nicer guy.”
When Wellington Webb was first elected Denver mayor, Webb said he held a meeting for businessmen. Kaufman was there to point out the merits of his store, adding, “The mayor buys there. Doesn’t he look good?” Webb recalled.
Webb said he knew of at least two occasions when Kaufman bought entire outfits for athletes who had died and were down on their luck, and the family couldn’t afford a suit for the man’s burial.
The Kaufmans often provided temporary housing and meals for University of Denver basketball players in the days before dorms were built. Kaufman had gotten acquainted with coaches and players there. Sometimes after local games, he’d drive athletes to his store so they could shop. “Today, we use a limo,” said Sam Kaufman.
Many of the athletes became lifelong friends of the family, and many present and former athletes came to his service Thursday, said his daughter, Mitzi Townshend of Centennial.
“Dad was the best salesman I ever saw. It was like a spider web. Sometimes, I felt bad for customers because I could see they were getting trapped,” said Townshend, laughing.
Fred Kaufman didn’t appreciate today’s casualness. “He didn’t like sloppiness. He always thought you should put on your ‘game face’ and look nice,” said his son.
Fred Kaufman was born in Landau, Germany, on Aug. 31, 1930, and immigrated to the U.S. with his parents, Adolph and Elsie Kaufman. He graduated from Tulane University.
He married Suzanne Cowan on Nov. 1, 1958. She died seven years ago.
Before Fred Kaufman opened his store, “really tall guys had to go through the Sears catalog or have custom-made clothes,” said Sam Kaufman, who is 6-foot-4.
The Kaufmans also have a store in Seattle, which they opened in 1995.
In addition to his son and daughter, Kaufman is survived by four grandchildren and his brother, Joe Kaufman of Denver, who worked in the shoe department of the store.
Virginia Culver: 303-954-1223 or vculver@denverpost.com
This article has been corrected in this online archive. Originally, due to a reporting error, the year Fred Kaufman was born was
listed as 1934. He was born August 31, 1930.
