The Israel family succeeded in building a large department store from a small family trade. Nathan Israel was a Jewish merchant who founded the N. Israel department store in 1815. The leadership was passed on within the family. Under the leadership of brothers Berthold and Hermann Israel, the department store expanded greatly, employing 1,300 people. They exported and sold travel goods, fashion items, gifts, furniture and cleaning supplies. In 1939, the company was "Aryanized" in the course of National Socialism.

In the newspaper " Der Israelit " of May 7, 1891, the " iron and metalware store E. Harburger & Söhne " is looking for an apprentice.

Dr. Fritz Frank was among other things also the family doctor of Martin Buber living in Heppenheim. A letter testifies to it, in which Martin Buber mentioned of Dr. Frank him a cure to Karlsbad had prescribed. Dr. Fritz Frank emigrated to Palestine in 1935 and settled there as a general practitioner.

The first owner and proprietor of the "Weiß-und Wollwarengeschäft J. Danziger" Isidor Danziger was married to Regina Baumann. In July 1919 he sold his business to Rosa Appel. She continued to run the business under the name "J. Danziger Nachfolger", but sold it to her husband Philipp Mendelsohn already in December 1919. In 1931, the store was still located at Kaiserstraße 9 under the name "J. Danziger Nachfolger".

The owners of the Barasch-Lissmann store for ladies' hats and fashion goods were Hanna Auerbach, née Lissmann, and Willy Mayer. After the marriage of the owner Hanna Lissmann with the Frankfurt Sanitätsrat Dr. Siegmund Auerbach in 1923, Willy Mayer became the manager. In 1933, Willy Mayer took over the store. However, the first boycotts against Jewish stores and businesses took place that same year. In 1938, the store opened under the name Damenhut - Spezialgeschäft Wildt.