It's family at the heart of Benny's stores

SMITHFIELD - When 24-year-old Benjamin Bromberg, a Russian-Jewish immigrant, opened a tire store in downtown Providence 85 years ago, he could not have known that the seed he planted would root so deeply in his adopted land, in the lives of his progeny, and eventually, in rural Smithfield.

His legacy in Rhode Island, as familiar as the Newport Creamery and Del's Lemonade, expanded even further last Friday when his son, Malcolm - precisely as old as the company itself - and two younger generations of Brombergs opened a 10,000-square-foot addition to the Benny's store on Putnam Pike.

Now among the larger of 32 stores in three states, the local Benny's was filled with customers and well-wishers throughout the day, all greeted by patriarch Malcolm; his sons, Arnold and Howard; his daughter, Judy; and his grandchildren, Scott, Matthew and Sam - the founder's great-grandchildren.

It's tradition - family is the engine that keeps Benny's rolling along.

Early in the morning, before the business day unfolded on Friday, the Bromberg generations gathered for a ceremony that is also a family tradition: When they open a new facility they recite a Jewish blessing, in both Hebrew and English.

Afterward, wearing store name tags, the family (four generations if you count the toddlers) greeted shoppers, friends and town officials who crowded aisles filled with typical Benny's wares: coffee makers and crock pots, toys and electronics, motor oil and anti-freeze, hammers, wrenches and leaf blowers.

Naturally, Benny's is still a haven for the tire maven ("FREE mounting") - just name your size.

Of all the locations in Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Connecticut, Smithfield's is unique; it's here, in the Esmond section, that the company has invested most heavily.

In 1964, Benny's moved its corporate headquarters and distribution center to Waterman Avenue after buying the expansive Esmond Mill, built in 1906.

Like Benny's, the mill in its heyday was noteworthy, widely known for its "Bunny" baby blankets.

Today, the majority of Benny's chain-wide inventory funnels through the sprawling, seven-acre complex.

"We have a pretty big stake in Smithfield," says Arnold Bromberg, 58, one of the founder's grandsons, explaining that, "We like it here - we can get out into the fresh air and it's centrally located."

The firm is a substantial taxpayer here. Its 2009 bill, for the 222,000-square-foot center and related assets, came to about $95,000, according to assessor's records. And that doesn't include taxes on the store addition, which are yet to be assessed.

The company's retail presence in Smithfield goes back to 1957, when the original store opened in what is now the Wood Items and More craft store in Greenville center. That space was a fraction of the 29,000 square feet in the expanded existing store, which Benny's built in 1973.

Once billing itself as "Benny's Home and Auto Stores," the corporation dropped that tagline as inventory diversified in recent decades, long after the first Benny's opened in 1924 at 79 Fountain St. - the current site of the Providence Journal building.

The young tire entrepreneur, Benjamin, had emigrated as an 8-year-old with his parents about 1908, according to his son, Malcolm, who at 85 is still active in the business.

After attending public schools and then working for others and giving driving lessons, "Benny" Bromberg put together an inventory heavy on tires and crystal sets - precursors to the radio - and opened his doors.

A 1931 photo of his second downtown store, also on Fountain Street, features a sign reflecting his concise and focused business philosophy: "Prices Talk."

From the beginning, Bromberg built his enterprise on family solidarity and business acumen: His wife, the former Flora Wolf, kept the books. She was one of the youngest and earliest graduates of Bryant & Stratton Business School - which, like Benny's, has ended up in Smithfield, as Bryant University.

Flora Bromberg, who died in 1991, was also the toy buyer, and that, too, is now woven into the tapestry of Benny's tradition.

Last Friday, while other corporate officers wore traditional name tags, Flora's granddaughter, Judith Bromberg Rosenstein, 56, wore a tag identifying her as the "Toy Princess." It's a nickname her brothers gave her when they were kids - and now it's especially appropriate because she has reprised her grandmother's role as toy buyer.

Don't bother asking the Brombergs about their official corporate titles, because they steer clear of such designations in daily work, even though their business filings with the state list Malcolm as president and the others as dividing a variety of offices.

The egalitarian attitude has developed the family into an effective business unit, says Judy Rosenstein.

"We all talk to each other," she says. "That's what makes it work."

Scott Bromberg, 34, who is Howard's son, says that "no one is trying to outrank anyone else."

If rank were an issue, the current buck private would be Scott's 24-year-old cousin Sam, Arnold's son, freshly graduated from Brandeis University in American studies and anthropology. He says he knew all along he'd join Benny's because "It's my family."

During his initial months he's essentially in basic training, doing stock, helping customers, and learning "from the ground up" as did his corporate elders - including his grandfather, Malcolm. The senior Bromberg, who signed on with his founding father after leaving the Navy in 1946, remembers that "We built bikes together."

"If you don't start out that way you're not going to learn anything," says Sam.

Matthew Bromberg, another son of Howard and a graduate of Syracuse University, was also eager to "follow in my family's footsteps, to keep the tradition going." He started part-time at 16, but alluding to his family's deep commitment to its legacy, the 31-year-old jokes that he's been part of Benny's "for 31 years."

It's an enterprise that has outlasted most other well-known Rhode Island retail chains.

Asked what the secret is, Malcolm Bromberg responds in a time-honored Jewish way, answering a question with another question.

"What's the secret? There is no secret. Hard work, that's it. And we've got a good family."

His son Arnold goes a bit further, asserting that "Our prices are good, we bend over backward to take care of our customers, and we have a wonderful staff."

Benny's by policy doesn't provide figures on how many it employs, but Arnold notes that the firm has provided jobs through several generations, that many workers stay on long-term, and that the company philosophy is to reward dedication and loyalty by promoting from within.

One of Benny's long-timers is Joan Williams, of Smithfield, 76, who has been with the company an even 50 years.

Formerly a full-time cashier and now a part-time bookkeeper, Williams says that in addition to the Brombergs' own closeness, "They always made people feel like part of the family."

She said she especially appreciates how the bosses frequently visit their stores, a habit that started with the founder, who died in 1966, and whom she knew as "a gentleman who'd always come in and talk to us."

As for family ties, Williams says her children and grandchildren have all worked for Benny's at one time or another, including her grandson P. J. Williams, who's currently in human resources.

The Brombergs place a high priority on their store visits, where they talk with the staff and see for themselves what's on the minds, and in the shopping carts, of customers.

A sidelight to last Friday's opening was a visit by Larry Bonoff, part of another nostalgia-evoking enterprise. His parents, Buster and Barbara Bonoff, founded the now-gone Warwick Musical Theatre, remembered fondly by many a Rhode Islander.

Bonoff, who has made a documentary tribute to the theater with filmmaker Brian Jones, asked Benny's to be the exclusive retail distributor.

He said that like the theater, Benny's, with its comfortable familiarity, "helps us understand who we were, who we are, and where we're going."

The stores, a combination of the retro and the contemporary, are indeed where past and present meet the future, say family members, whose idea is to keep them large enough to offer varied merchandise, but small enough not to be intimidating.

"Our customers are loyal to us because we're loyal to them, says Scott Bromberg. "We give them what they want at a price they can afford."

Surveying the busy store on Friday, the Brandeis graduate gave his own version of Benny's formula for success: "It's a lot of old-fashioned retail ideas - that aren't really old-fashioned."

As for the future, the great-great grandchildren of Benny Bromberg, so far, are four girls: Talia and Allison, both 3; Jamie, 9 months; and Ayelet, 6 months.

It's a lock that somewhere among them is a toy buyer, just waiting to grow up.