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 10, 2008 | By:                                  | /s/ James R. Famalette
|-------------- | ------------------------------------ | ----------------------
|               | James R. Famalette                  
|               | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer

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