Exhibit 31.1

SECTION 302 CERTIFICATION OF PRESIDENT AND 
                  CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

I, James R. Famalette, certify that:

1.	I have reviewed this Annual Report on Form 10-K of Gottschalks Inc.;

2.	Based on my knowledge, this annual report does not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a
material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect
to the period covered by this report;

3.	Based on my knowledge, the financial statements, and other financial information included in this report, fairly present in all
material respects the financial condition, results of operations and cash flows of the registrant as of, and for, the periods presented in this report;

4.	The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I are responsible for establishing and maintaining disclosure controls and
procedures (as defined in Exchange Act Rules 13a-15(e) and 15d-15(e)) and internal control over financial reporting (as defined in Exchange Act Rules
13a-15(f) and 15d-15(f)) for the registrant and have:

a)	Designed such disclosure controls and procedures, or caused such disclosure controls and procedures to be designed under
our supervision, to ensure that material information relating to the registrant, is made known to us by others within those entities, particularly during the
period in which this annual report is being prepared;

b)	Designed such internal control over financial reporting, or caused such internal control over financial reporting to be
designed under our supervision, to provide reasonable assurance regarding the reliability of financial reporting and the preparation of financial statements
for external purposes in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles;

c)	Evaluated the effectiveness of the registrant's disclosure controls and procedures and presented in this report our
conclusions about the effectiveness of the disclosure controls and procedures, as of the end of the period covered by this report based on such evaluation;
and

d)	Disclosed in this report any change in the registrant's internal control over financial reporting that occurred during the
registrant's most recent fiscal quarter (the registrant's fourth fiscal quarter in the case of an annual report) that has materially affected, or is reasonably
likely to materially affect, the registrant's internal control over financial reporting; and

5.	The registrant's other certifying officer(s) and I have disclosed, based on our most recent 	evaluation of internal control
over financial reporting, to the registrant's auditors and the audit committee of registrant's board of directors (or persons performing the equivalent
functions):

a)	All significant deficiencies and material weaknesses in the design or operation of internal controls over financial reporting
which are reasonably likely to adversely affect the registrant's ability to record, process, summarize and report financial information; and

b)	Any fraud, whether or not material, that involves management or other employees who have a significant role in the
registrant's internal control over financial reporting.

|April 16, 2007 | By:                                   | /s/ James R. Famalette
|-------------- | ------------------------------------- | ----------------------
|               | James R. Famalette                   
|               | President and Chief Executive Officer

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