San Francisco is home to Levi Strauss & Co.’s headquarters and the company’s original 1853 business.
Levi Strauss arrived in San Francisco during the California Gold Rush and established a dry-goods business there in 1853. The company initially sold supplies and clothing to customers in the expanding western United States, rather than beginning as a jeans-only manufacturer.
San Francisco later became associated with the commercial development of riveted work trousers. Levi Strauss worked with tailor Jacob Davis, whose reinforcement idea was patented in 1873. The company then built a large-scale business around durable denim garments.
Reno is important because Davis worked there and developed the riveted-trouser idea, but Reno is not Levi Strauss & Co.’s headquarters city. San Francisco is the company’s historic home and remains central to its identity.