Pucci's has been a fixture in the Fredonia community for 40 years.
Pucci's Carpet opened in 1972 after some fortunate turns of events. Ron Pucci was working with his father Carl at his deli. He was trying to find a deal on carpets to renovate the apartments above the deli and was able to buy some carpet at wholesale prices in Buffalo, but had to buy the samples that went along with them. After leaving the samples in the front of the deli many people started buying carpet, even more than lunch meat. And so two years later Pucci's Carpet opened at 50 W. Main St. in Fredonia.
"We have spent our whole life in Fredonia, our whole business life. We are local people who have stayed in the community, everything we do stays here, our family is here," Ron said.
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Pucci’s Carpet has been located at 112 W. Main St. in Fredonia since 1981.
Ron's wife Michelene "Mickey," later joined the business and in 1981 the couple decided to make the move to the larger, present location at 112 W. Main St.
"We bought the building and had too much space. That's why we got into furniture," Mickey said.
"We have been in the business for 40 years. We are the oldest continuously-owned business in Fredonia," Ron added.
Mickey explained the business has gone through many stages to get to where it is today.
"Our business has gone through many phases. We went from just carpet to expanding into furniture. Mike came back from college and brought his marketing skills to the business. Todd joined us in the late '90s and he expanded our business to a commercial level," Mickey said.
Mike, Ron and Mickey's son, helped the business become a more well-rounded store with a large surge in inventory and the expansion of product line and marketing.
"For a small business we are lucky to have the suppliers we do. It is like having three businesses under one roof; we have flooring, furniture and bedding. We are lucky to have the top four names in bedding; Serta, Simmons, Seeley and Tempurpedic.In our furniture department we have a custom gallery from England. We are able to offer custom products within 21 days. We also have Ashley brand furniture options. On the flooring side we are lucky to have Carpet 1 as a supplier, they are the leading carpet co-op in the world," Mike said.
Todd Schafer grows the business with outside sales expanding service area to Erie, Pa., Buffalo and Jamestown. Todd is also Pucci's IT director.
"We are a decorating department store from flooring to windows we have three floors of product," Mickey said about the business now.
Ron and Mickey said their success comes from the customers and community who have supported their business.
"Without the support of the community we couldn't be here for 40 years. We have met many wonderful people over the years. Customers trust us because of the customer service we provide and we back our products. We feel as though many return customers have become friends, we really get to know them," Mickey said. "It has been a wonderful experience and we are looking forward to growth in the future."
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