Credited with supporting Ocean City community
By DAVID NAHAN/Sentinel staff
OCEAN CITY – Richard Kabat, who took over the family business on Asbury Avenue and built Kabat Men’s Shop into a 9,000-square-foot regional destination for fashion while employing four tailors, died Jan. 19 at age 88.
Kabat was remembered for operating one of the cornerstone businesses in Ocean City’s downtown and his contributions to the area, including being one of the key figures in conceiving and seeing the Ocean City Community Center constructed.
“He was certainly one of a kind,” said Michele Gillian, executive director of the Ocean City Regional Chamber of Commerce. “I think he had one of the finest men’s stores in the area. He certainly was a good person who brought a lot to the Ocean City downtown.”
“I remember his store,” she added. “I came from Ventnor and Margate, my dad used to buy his clothes there. It was a staple of downtown Ocean City.”
“People came from all over south Jersey to buy his suits because he had H. Freeman and Hickey Freeman and a good line of shoes,” Tom Heist III said. “A guy came down from a shoe company and designed different shoes for Richard. I had a pair of brown and whites that they designed and had made.”
Heist graduated from Ocean City High School in 1954 and came back to the community in 1965 to work at an insurance agency he later purchased and named the Thomas H. Heist Insurance Agency, Inc., now run by his son, Thomas Heist IV.
Heist worked with Kabat on the community center and said he was “a strong proponent of the community. He was always doing downtown work. He was a hard worker.”
The same year Heist returned to the resort, in 1965, Kabat took over the men’s store upon the death of his father, Reuben, running it with his mother, Sara, and later his sister, Judy (Kabat) Granoff.
His father had worked at Stainton’s on Asbury Avenue before opening a little men’s shop down the street, which he later expanded. The family business eventually became two stores, a men’s shop and a boy’s shop in the 700 block of Asbury Avenue.
“His windows were impeccable,” Gillian said about the displays of clothing. “He just brought a certain class to the downtown. It was a beautiful store … it was like going into a New York store on Asbury Avenue. It was high end, but tastefully done. He marketed himself really well. He was known throughout the region for one of the finest men’s stores. He always had such nice people working there. It was really a treasure of the downtown.”
Kabat’s son, Curtis Kabat, worked in the shop from the time he was 12 until leaving for college. After a few years in New York City he came back and worked for two more years with his father.
He had a lot of good memories from when he was young. “I used to go to Wards Party every morning and I used to go to Rauhauser’s Candies for an afternoon snack,” he said. “My dad loved that.” Wards and Rauhauser’s are still going strong on the same block.
City Councilman Keith Hartzell now owns the building that housed Kabat Men’s Shop. He bought the building and leased it back to Richard Kabat.
Hartzell had nothing but praise for Kabat, saying he was most impressed with the man’s integrity, and he was a fellow Philadelphia Eagles fan who carried his sense of style not only in the business community, but also at Eagles games.
“I think my favorite thing about his was that he was an avid Eagles fan, a season-ticket holder, and I can say unequivocally he was the most well-dressed person in the 700 level. I would see him walk into a game and he would be pretty dressed up, walking hand in hand with his wife,” Hartzell said. He also made sure to contact him when the Eagles won the Super Bowl in 2017 to share the joy with him because he had moved out of the area when he retired.
“More importantly,” Hartzell said, “he was a forerunner in the downtown. He got the store from his father and expanded it.” Kabat, he added, saw the value of improvements to the downtown, including trees and custom sidewalks “long before anybody else” and even went into his own pocket to make some of the changes.
He believed Ocean City was a first-class town that needed a first-class downtown, Hartzell said.
The councilman was impressed that he ran a 9,000-square-foot business and at one point had four tailors working for him costuming the suits and making bespoke shirts.
Hartzell said Kabat believed when he retired, the fashion industry was changing to a more casual style and he didn’t have an interest in going in that direction.
“Somewhere in the ‘90s we all stopped wearing suits,” Hartzell said. “I was in sales and when I was hired in the ‘80s we always had three-piece suits on. And somewhere in the ‘90s we were all dressed in a nice pair of pants and a nice shirt.
“What you got when you went into Kabat Men’s Shop was the ultimate in fine service,” he added, “and the highest quality of clothing you could get.” The tailors would be able to fit that clothing to the buyer.
People who had to continue to dress well, such as former U.S. Rep. Frank LoBiondo, continued to shop there.
“I think when the industry changed, he didn’t have to, so he retired,” Hartzell said. “I mean that in the most respectful manner. He just loved it the way it was.”
He said the legacy of the building he now owns belongs to Kabat, so he put up a plaque in his honor to remember the man and the business. “In my mind it’s still kind of his building,” Hartzell said.
The plaque, dedicated in December 2008, reads: “The Kabat Building: In honor of Reuben R. Kabat and his son Richard H. Kabat for their 61 years of service to the Ocean City Community. You will be missed.”
Rescued at sea after boat capsizes
Heist recalled a story about Kabat capsizing in the ocean while sailing during his time stationed in Florida in the U.S. Air Force. (He served 1954-57.) Curtis Kabat recalled that too.
“I remember him telling the story how he was on a little sailboat and it capsized and he was stuck in the water and had to be rescued,” Curtis said, but he had to ask his mother, Shirley, to remind him of the details last week.
“They were way out and the boat capsized,” Curtis said after speaking to her. “And they actually were in the water for 13 hours. Someone spotted them, I’m not sure if it was a plane or a boat, but the interesting part was this. My dad learned how to sail at the Ocean City Yacht Club. He remembered from that time that they said if you blow up pants – take your pants and tie the ends – you can use them to hold onto while they waited all those hours. I never knew those details, so it was kind of cool to find that out,” he added. “He was a captain in the Air Force and spent some time in Europe and was also stationed in Florida.”
A founder of the Community Center
About 45 years ago, Kabat and Ronald Taht started a movement to build the Ocean City Community Center. Then-mayor B. Thomas Walden inevitably formed a commission featuring Kabat and Taht and adding others including Heist and Carolyn Murphy, a former president of the Downtown Merchants Association.
“We started with just a pool,” Heist said, “and two racquetball courts.” It expanded greatly from there.
In 2014 the Community Center was renovated and expanded, housing the pool, the courts, a gym, a day care center, the public library, arts center, historical museum and the senior center.
Along with the Community Center, Kabat was a president of the chamber of commerce and retail merchants, the Ocean City-Upper Township Rotary Club, Stockton State College (now University) Performing Arts Center and chairman of Shore Medical Center (then Shore Memorial Hospital).
Kabat and his wife, Shirley, were married in 1961. They spent most of their lives living in Linwood and Margate before moving to Rhinebeck, N.Y., in retirement. Even after retiring he continued to offer advice to businesses. Gillian said he would periodically check in to provide updates and learn about what was going on in Ocean City.
In addition to his wife, survivors include his son, daughter Randy, grandsons Oliver and Luke, and sister. An online memorial service took place Sunday.
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