Halmar Work Clothes Centers

I have attempted to go to this store twice now and was refused service by the owner. Despite the «open signs» and other patrons he accommodated. The first time he told me to come back in 30 minutes as he was on his lunch break. I came back and he refused to let me enter because he was doing inventory. And then told me they don’t sell «women’s clothes». Sexist store owner who refused to sell to a female customer. Would rather drive to San Leandro or San Fransico than give this misogynist my money.

Used to be my go to for work wear even though they’re a little over priced and the owner is loud with his opinions about liberals, gays, etc… but it was very conveniently located so I overlooked it. I now regret that I ever gave them any of my money, and I wonder if the people giving them 5 star reviews are also right-​wing bigots or just ignoring the owner’s wretched behavior in favor of not having to drive to San Leandro.
The last straw for me was having them lock me in the store while I was shopping because I assume they thought I was going to steal from them somehow, even though there two men working there and I was by myself. I didn’t realize they’d locked me in until after I’d paid and was trying to leave. The guy behind the counter didn’t even have the sense to be apologetic about it. Just looked at me like, «hey you understand, right darkie?». If they’d done like some jewelry stores where they buzz you in and out it wouldn’t have bothered me, but I got a definite sense of being profiled.
So I guess if you’re cool with that kind of thing, feel free to continue giving them your business and your 5 star reviews, but it might suggest some less than great things about you as a person.

Let the Unilocal record show that I confess to a very serious misjudgment of this business. Almost one year later, headed back in, the owner couldn’t have been nicer, or more helpful. I’m glad I went back, based not only on their more extensive selection of work clothes than other store options, but to support a business owner.
Looks like bringing the money here is well worth your time after all. Good man, thanks for proving me wrong!

Great selection, nice enough guy. Better to spend your money here where you can try your clothes on before buying them than at OSH or Amazon.

Great selection Carhartt everything, Ben Davis, Pendleton, safety clothing, work, sport clothing and a ton of accessories. Jackets, vests, coveralls, overalls, shirts for days. Available parking in lot, friendly knowledgeable owner/​manager. I don’t know what those one star guys are talking about, not my experience. If you want good MENS clothes come to Halmar, if you want fluff and smiles from plastic sales personnel head over to the boutiques on College Av. or Montclair Village and get yourself a blouse.
Dave H.

i attempted to return t-​shirts that did not fit (from a package of 3 i could not try on in store) when i picked up my special order pants & he was completely unsympathetic to my plea. he said the t-​shirts were considered UNDERWEAR & there was no return on UNDERWEAR… !

#1 place to buy work clothes in town. Best selection of Ben Davis & Carhartts. Dudes hella cool. Buy local!

Halmar has all the Ben Davis styles and sizes. Ben Davis is some of the highest quality and most reasonably priced product you will find. The guy in there looked at me for just a second and told me what size to try, and he was right. I go there every time I’m in town and pick up a few pairs of pants. I’ve been buying Ben Davis pants there for more than 30 years. They’re made off shore nowadays, but the quality is still there. Who knew they were going to become popular in Bay Area hip hop culture!

not much in women’s. great selection for men. $ 20 min for credit cards. One shirt on sale for $ 10 I wanted, wouldn’t accept card for less than $ 20. I passed.

Doesn’t carry anything for women, not even work boots. Too bad.

Awesome store with good prices and a nice owner who is very helpful

Good selection, but if I actually want to buy some of this stuff, I go to Work World in Hayward or Newark. If you haven’t been, Work World is like Halmar minus the right wing politics and having the door locked once you enter. Also it’s less costly. The owner seems bitter, but maybe it’s because pretty much his ENTIRE stock is manufactured in Commie China or any number of Third World countries (ask him about it). He hates Commies. And Foreigners. You’re livelihood being entirely supported by a group of people you can’t stand has gotta sting some. Oh well. Pass on this one.

I love this place! Roy is very helpful and informative. If you need Carhart work clothes this is the place to go!

Are you there to buy clothes or are you there to talk politics? Make up your mind ahead of time.
If the former, this is the place for you. If the latter, you might try Sproul Plaza, only a hop away. However, note that they don’t sell jeans at Sproul Plaza.
Terrific selection, very helpful. I’m a woman and I’m not interested in the owner’s opinion of women wearing men’s clothing, which he didn’t shove at me anyway. But even if he had. Got some terrific jeans for reasonable money.

Had to pick up a couple of work shirts and was in the area so I dropped in. Had my Dad with me and we had a great time BS’ing with the owner while we shopped.
Great selection and a fair price for what you’re getting… Plus good conversation… What more can you ask for! 2 thumbs way up!

2 weekends ago I left my wallet there on a Saturday afternoon & didn’t figure it out until late that night after they closed. Since they’re closed Sunday I left a couple of messages on the store’s phone & searched everywhere else and hoped against hope that my wallet was actually there.
Monday morning a booming voice called my cell phone– «JESSE, I’VE GOT GREAT NEWS FOR YOU!» Yes, it was Roy (not introducing himself, even though I’ve never had a personal conversation with him), and yes, I’d left my wallet on his front counter. My plans for a dreary day at the DMV were happily toast.
When I told him that my wife had said, «At least if you DID leave it at Halmar, it’s probably the safest place to leave it in Berkeley,» he almost blew out my eardrums with his laugh. It’s true though, right?
Even though I am *literally* a card-​carrying member of the ACLU (the card was in the wallet), he still tried to find me in the phone book that Sunday and called me as soon as he heard my messages on the store’s answering machine Monday morning. Yes, he apparently listens to Michael Savage «for real,» and yes he and I will rarely agree when it comes to politics, but yes he also provided a huge favor for someone he clearly disagrees with because it’s the correct, honest thing to do.
That’s fantastic and why I’ll continue buying from his store. I’ve friends who (understandably) shop over in San Leandro because they can’t hang with the often horrible political outbursts. I’ve considered doing this myself sometimes.
I’ve shopped here for years. The clothes are what I want and Roy has the experience to know what your waist/​leg measurements are with a quick glance. As everyone else has mentioned, he’s one of those people who walk into a room and demand attention just by their demeanor. Because of his honesty & straight-​forwardness, I’ll be shopping here for the foreseeable future.

Good selection, but overpriced. Also the owner is an absolute jerk. He’s nice enough to me, but I’ve seen him be quite rude to women, people of color, and gay folks. A shame, cause he really does carry a fine selection of work apparel. I’m going to check out Pacific in San Leandro as well, hopefully I can be freed from my Halmar habit.
(Also, in case anyone cares I’m a carpenter. As in a get dirty, deal with macho guys sort of carpenter. So my tolerance for jerks has gotten pretty high over the years. The owner of Halmar, though, he still manages to surpass any and all standards of jerkdom. Made me feel dirty every time I gave him money.)
Updated February 2014: He doesn’t even carry standard double knee Carhartts anymore. Only the crappy presoftened kind. Absolutely no reason to go there now.

I used to shop here but have now taken to buying my Ben Davis and Dickies clothing online instead because the shopping experience at this store is not a very good one and the prices here are high. Further, they often don’t have my size in stock and they say they can order it but I have to pay in full first and then wait for the order to come in, no thanks.
Not to mention the guy who runs this place is a bit strange. He talks really loud, like as if he wants everyone in the store to hear him and what he says can be quite odd. Like he will talk about how he doesn’t like certain types of people such as gays, etc.
I’m frankly much happier not shopping here.

Today was my third visit to the store. I’m a home inspector and occasionally need clothes and boots for crawlspaces when I don’t have time to order on-​line. They have never had the particular boot I like (no laces, pull-​on hiking style and waterproof) but have the coveralls for sure and carry a very good selection of high-​quality work clothes that I haven’t seen anywhere else in the Easy Bay. REI has the boots, so I repeated a Halmar/​REI run I did a few years ago.
The owner is a right-​wing, America– Love it or leave it kind of guy and he’s not shy about that. I suggest you mention the Unilocal comments, as I did, and Roy will share with you social and political opinions that I thought were banned in Berkeley. While talking to Roy, be sure to peruse the fliers scotch taped under the counter glass like: «My SUV Loves Iraqi Oil».
I was going to give the store 4 stars because I had to go to REI for my boots, but Roy is a straight-​shooting guy running his store the way he wants. Don’t like it, just leave. I don’t have to agree with his politics but I like his style and for that Halmar Work Clothes gets one extra star for a total of 5.

Zero stars — while they have nice stock I will not give this homophobe my money. One time I was in there, Carhartt jacket in hand, approaching the register and the owner was ranting to another customer about how gays (and as I remember he used a less positive word) had no business adopting children because they were not fit to be parents and would teach their depraved ways to the kids, etc. etc. I was shocked and gently laid the coat on the counter and calmly said, «I won’t be supporting your business» as I exited to him yelling that he didn’t need my money… good thing ’cause he won’t be getting any.
Go to Pacific Apparel in San Leandro or Siegel’s in S.F. instead.