Alan Ades

• Alan Ades successfully fought off a Trump attempt to evict his store from the Grand Hyatt Hotel (formerly the Commodore Hotel) and ended up negotiating a favorable settlement with a long-term lease that was “worth a fortune.” “Real estate executives say Mr. Ades usually gets the price he wants. They reverentially recall how he once took on Donald Trump. Mr. Trump had tried to evict Strawberry from its site at 42nd and Lex when he was building the Grand Hyatt Hotel above it. Mr. Ades sued to stay, negotiated a favorable settlement and signed a long-term lease, to boot. ‘It was a brilliant move,’ says one industry insider. ‘That lease is worth a fortune.’” (Crain’s New York Business, November 27, 1989)
• Alan Ades owned several retail chains in New York City and its surrounding regions. “If Ms. Cartegana can't find slacks at Strawberry, she can keep walking west on 42nd Street. Two other stores owned by Strawberry's president, Alan Ades, beckon with more off-price merchandise: Dollar Bill's, at 42nd and Park, and J. Chuckles, at 42nd and Madison. […] Their company, Ridgefield, N.J.-based A&E Stores Inc., also owns a wholesale apparel operation, two other off-price retailers -- Valachi 500 (formerly Simco Shoes) and Manifesto -- as well as several commercial properties, three of them in Manhattan. All of which should make Mr. Ades a well-known retailing and real estate force here. But he's not. Despite the depth of his holdings, Mr. Ades remains a shadow. A soft spoken 50-year-old who declines interviews -- he would not comment for this article -- the clearest image of Mr. Ades comes from a Chemical Bank ad that features the bespectacled Strawberry chief with one of the chain's shopping bags.” (Crain’s New York Business, November 27, 1989)