25 Cents - Stuebing & Company Berlin, Ontario

Henry Stuebing (born 1855) had a career that paralleled Uffelmann’s: his earliest store was in tiny German Mills (today’s Manitou Drive and Bleams Road area), then in 1881 he opened on King Street East in Berlin.

Selling mainly groceries, he was Berlin’s early source for global foods: especially fine Chinese tea blends, exotic South American coffees, spices, herbs and condiments. In the early 1890s, brother Edward joined and the name changed to Stuebing Brothers.

With son Arthur on board in 1897, the store became Stuebing & Company. Moving to 23 Queen St. S. (near today’s Working Centre Café) around 1906, it became Stuebing & Son. Another change around 1920 placed the store on King Street West, in a fashionable area near the new Lyric Theatre. One final move and Stuebing’s opened near King and Water streets but the doors closed around 1934. Both Henry and Arthur died shortly thereafter.

During the earlier period on King East, Stuebing & Company advertised itself as “The 333 Store” and in the advertisement from Vernon’s 1897 directory, a 333 King St. address is shown: the actual address was 19 King so 333 must have had some now-lost significance to the Stuebings. Like Uffelmann, Henry Stuebing contributed to civic life, serving on council and as Berlin’s deputy reeve.