who made the term banana republic come true
The True Story Behind the Banana Republic Brand. Mel and Patricia Ziegler co-founded Banana Republic back in 1978. The company was bought by Gap in 1983 and now operates as a division, now with over 600 stores located internationally. They also co-founded The Republic of Tea and ZoZa.com. The Republic of Tea spawned an entirely new food category, specialty tea.