NATIONAL JEWELER          37
G
reenberg’s Jewelers is the largest family- 
owned jewelry chain in Iowa.
Led by third-generation 
co-owners Amy and Elise 
Greenberg, the retailer has seven locations 
across Iowa, Nebraska, and South 
Dakota. 
Over the past 40-plus years, the 
sisters have worked together to 
help the business expand and evolve 
through their commitment to per-
sonalized customer service and the 
company’s internal culture of integrity 
and trust, carrying on a legacy that dates 
to the early 20th century.
Jacob Greenberg, Amy and Elise’s paternal 
grandfather, founded Greenberg’s Jewelers more 
than a century ago.
One of four children, Jacob immigrated to the United States 
from Lithuania by himself around 1900, eventually landing in Iowa, 
where he had family.
He was 14 years old and already a trained watchmaker.
He later became a railroad-certified watchmaker. Sioux City, 
Iowa, was a big rail hub at the time and railroad-certified watch-
makers were an important part of keeping trains running safely 
and on time. 
He inspected, cleaned, certified, and repaired watches in the 
window of a crockery shop, a store that sold plates, 
bowls, cups, and serving dishes.
Jacob eventually took over the crockery 
shop. As he became better known and more 
familiar with the jewelry business, he 
added diamonds to the store’s inventory 
and tacked on the family name.
In 1942, Jacob’s son Ray Greenberg 
took over the business, joined by his 
wife, Ann, in 1953. 
Ray and Ann had three daughters. 
Amy and Elise are the oldest; the young-
est, Louise, isn’t in the jewelry business.
“We definitely were the product of 
retail parents,” Amy says. “We did credit 
jewelry, and I remember us three girls in the 
back of the car while my dad was out collecting the 
payments for the jewelry.”
They tied bows on boxes at Christmas and helped 
around the store at other times of the year as well.
“We used to do our own catalogs, which was 
pretty innovative at the time,” Amy says. 
“They would hand type all the labels, and we would put them on 
the little flyers or brochures we were sending out. Then we would 
have to sort them by ZIP code … There were thousands upon thou-
sands, and we’d put them together and tie twine around them.”
“And [dad] would pay us a penny a piece,” Elise adds.
Greenberg’s Jewelers 
original store in 
approximately 1920. 
Jacob Greenberg is 
pictured on the left side 
of store, second from the 
front in a light gray suit.
2026
Retailer
HALL OF FAME
Elise, left, and 
Amy Greenberg

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