After already having had a successful Hudson's men & boys' clothing store in Detroit and the Hudson Motor Company, Joseph L. Hudson opened his department store on Woodward in 1911. Tragically, he would never know the degree of its success. The next year, in 1912, he died from pneumonia that he contracted while visiting England. He had no children, so the business passed to his four Webber nephews. They were up to the task, and they made Hudson's a resounding success.

In 1963, Hudson's great-nephew, J.L. Hudson Jr. took over the reins, but by the mid-1960's downtown Detroit had begun to change in ways that were not good for Hudson's. A store clerk was murdered in the store in 1966, and the Detroit riots occurred downtown in 1967. People bacame afraid to go downtown to shop, and Hudson's sales began to suffer. The store tried to compensate by closing departments and reducing services, but people's shopping habits had changed and were not quick to change back. In 1983, Hudson's closed its downtown Detroit store.

JL Hudson's Chocolate Chunk Cookies
JL Hudson Butterscotch Biscuits
J.L. Hudson's Cheese Bread
Chicken Pot Pie
Maurice Salad Dressing

There are twelve J.L. Hudson's recipes on this site:
Detroit Memories

They are:

Canadian Cheese Soup
Cheery Nut Cake
Chocolate Chip Cookies
Club Chicken Salad / Hot Bacon Dressing
Gazpacho
Greek Feta Salad
Hot Bacon Dressing
Maurice Salad
Mushroom Quiche
Orange Muffins
Sesame Dressing
Sour Cream Sugar Cookies
Spinach Salad Supreme / Hot Bacon Dressing
Vichyssoise (Cold Potato Soup)

No Luck:

Brownies
Burger with Stroganoff Sauce Cheesecake
Chocolate Chunk Cookies
Date Nut Bread
egg salad
Tiramisu