A veteran-owned local manufacturer of men's jeans is celebrating its 75th anniversary in Zebulon, N.C.
Devil-Dog Dungarees are in stores nationwide, like Nordstrom and Dillard's. Its name draws inspiration from the U.S. Marines who earned the nickname “devil dog” during World War I.
“Anything that we can do to kind of pay tribute to North Carolina, … every one of our leatherette patches that are on the back of our Devil-Dog jeans proudly says Zebulon, North Carolina,” said Jeffrey Rosenstock, one of the co-owners of the company. “We're hoping that millions of people will be wearing our jeans and they'll have Zebulon, North Carolina and say, 'What's this all about?'”
Devil-Dog Dungarees later re-launched its brand in 2019 as a men's denim and lifestyle company that now sells T-shirts, pants and shorts.
“We really wanted to pay tribute when we relaunched the brand by naming all of our washes based on different cities throughout the Carolinas,” Rosenstock said.
Some of the cities that are named for their washes — or color — of the jeans include Clayton, Boone, and Durham.
The company also supports the non-profit Wounded Warrior Project, which provides services to disabled veterans. Each pair of Devil-Dog jeans comes with a dog tag to spread awareness about the Wounded Warrior Project. Devil-Dog Dungarees has donated over $125,000 to the non-profit.
As part of its 75th anniversary, the neon sign at its Zebulon factory will be restored at a private ceremony on June 8.