ABOUT US

 Our History

 California Loan & Jewelry has been serving the needs of the Sacramento community since 1909 and we are committed to operating with the same values that have sustained us all these years.

That means treating our customers with honesty and integrity and providing the best customer service possible. We pride ourselves on getting our loan customers more money than they expect while providing our retail customers with the best value on their purchases.

California Loan & Jewelry is one of the oldest businesses in the Sacramento region still operated by the same family.

The shop, originally called the New York Store, was founded in 1909 by twin brothers William and Joe Anapolsky. Located at 1014 3rd Street, it sold basic merchandise and popular items of the day, such as clothing, shoes, watches, jewelry, diamonds, guns, suit cases, trunks, optical goods and musical instruments.

The business remained the same until the early 1940s when they began to make collateral loans. In 1947, Joe and William passed away within six months of each other. It was at this time that William’s two sons, Sol and Milton, decided to take over the business. They changed the store’s name to California Clothing & Jewelry and in 1949 moved it to 409 K Street. A few years later the name changed again – to the current California Loan & Jewelry Co.

Milton died in 1952 at the young age of 32. Sol continued the business with the aid of his new partner, his wife Bernice. To keep pace with the city’s growth to the east, the store changed locations several times. In 1959 the store moved to 511 K Street and in 1962, it moved again, to 607 J Street. In 1967 a major fire destroyed nearly all the store’s inventory, prompting Sol to purchase his first building at 916 J Street. The next year, California Loan & Jewelry moved into the completely remodeled building, where they remain today.

Sol and Bernice had three children, Ellyce, Warren and Larry. Larry knew he wanted to be in the family business from a very young age. After high school, he started to work full-time at the store while attending Sacramento City College. After one year, he dropped out of college so he could focus entirely on the business. Warren attended the University of Arizona and graduated in 1971. He moved back to Sacramento unsure of what he wanted to do. He worked in a local jewelry store and tried his hand at selling real estate before realizing in 1973 that he too wanted to join the family business. The next year, California Loan & Jewelry Co. was incorporated and became a true family partnership.

Sol passed away in 1979 and the business again saw a change in management. Even though Bernice owned 51 percent of the stock, Larry became president and leader of the company. In the 1980s California Loan & Jewelry underwent significant changes in its business philosophy. The loan portfolio grew tremendously by making more loans and larger loans. Retail sales also increased. They were able to turn over merchandise more quickly by selling directly to other dealers. And they found scrap dealers willing to buy jewelry that was otherwise considered unsellable. In 1980 California Loan & Jewelry became the first pawn shop in Sacramento to computerize its entire loan department.

1999 was another pivotal year for the business. Bernice, who had been actively working in the store, died at the age of 84. Larry and Warren acquired the building next door at 912 J Street. They remodeled the building and started Advance Check Cashing, which specializes in check cashing, payday advances, money orders, sending and receiving Western Union messages, and renting mail boxes.

Larry passed away in 2013, leaving Warren to run the business on his own. Warren continues to adhere to the same philosophy used more than 100 years ago: to conduct business with the highest integrity and treat customers the way that they would want to be treated. And he’s confident those principles will carry the business forward for another hundred years.