In 1946, a savvy businessman by the name of Lou Goldberg, fresh from service in the Royal Canadian Air Force, walked the streets of Montreal wearing a vest filled with jewelry; diamond rings, pearl necklaces, and gold bracelets, overflowing from its pockets. His goal—far-reaching for the time—was to sell every piece before returning home to his gorgeous wife Betty.

Lou’s authentic personality, and remarkable taste, quickly won him a long list of loyal clients, whose requests for his wares could no longer be satisfied by one man and a vest. This demand was the catalyst for the opening of his eponymous shop. In 1957, Lou Goldberg Jeweller opened its doors on University Street in Montreal.

A lover of beautiful objects as well, Lou’s son Shelly (19 at the time) had always expressed his interest in joining the business, and started helping out in the store. Like father, like son, Shelly was a natural born salesman. Shelly played a pivotal role in the development and growth of Lou Goldberg Jeweller and eventually took over the business in the early 1990s.

Knowing too well the ups and downs of the retail jewelry industry, Shelly did not want his two sons to join the business. Headstrong and confident, his youngest son, Daniel, would hear nothing of it, and was determined to show his father that he was destined to join the family business. Daniel enrolled himself in the prestigious Montreal School of Gemology. Two months into the semester, Shelly could see that his son had real passion, and sent him to study at the Gemological Institute of America (GIA), in New York.

Shelly’s position on joining the family business didn’t change. Daniel graduated from the GIA in July 2006. With his degree in the 4C’s in one hand, and his suitcase in the other, he left the big apple for the West’s Most Western Town, Scottsdale, Arizona, where he would work for an associate of his father’s learning everything and anything there was to learn about the wholesale diamond business.

In May 2008, Shelly Goldberg passed away suddenly. Daniel stayed in Scottsdale for two more years. In 2010, he returned to Montreal where he would work under his two uncles, who were currently running the daily operations of the family business. It didn’t take Daniel long to realize that things at Lou Goldberg Jeweller had changed. His father’s inspiring energy and authenticity, were no longer there. It was time for Daniel to make a move and reclaim his father’s position in the industry.

Shelly and Lou always talked about opening up a store in Toronto. With the love of his life living in Toronto, Daniel decided to follow his heart and to fulfill his father’s dream. One year later, their dream became a reality. In January 2012, at just 28-years-old, Daniel opened a new Lou Goldberg Jeweller location in Toronto’s Forest Hill Village.

Today, Daniel continues to run the business that Lou and Shelly translated into a thriving marque in the jewelry industry, one with a philosophy that combines passion and beauty with a promise of quality. Daniel is proud to introduce Greene Avenue Jewellers, ushering in a new creative direction to his brand and what it represents. A new name with the same credibility and backing behind it all while paying homage to the rich past that forged the way for Daniel and the Greene Avenue Jewellers family to thrive.