Activate map
Yes | |
Street | |
Yes |
Yes | |
Yes |
Specialties
Providing quality clothing at reasonable prices to Greenpoint, Brooklyn since 1975
History
Established in 1975.
Cato’s Army & Navy opened in November of 1975. Tony and Marion Veneziano took a risk and opened a men’s clothing store that year even though neither had worked in retail before. For more than 10 years, Tony had delivered oil for Exxon, then located on Freeman Street, Greenpoint, so he knew the neighborhood well. Marion had been raising a family since 1955. This would mark her return to the business world. Together they developed what would become one of Greenpoint’s most enduring retail stores.
The early days at Cato’s were very different than today. Most new retailers purchased their goods at jobbers on the Lower East Side. Every Sunday, Marion and Tony would trek into the city to buy what they thought would sell that week. As they became established business owners, sales people came to them. Year after year, they grew their business, adding labels such as Levi, Wrangler and Dickie. Together with a small sales staff, Cato’s took care of Greenpoint’s men’s casual clothing needs.