Furnishing Family
Mastroieni Furniture, a leading furnisher of homes throughout the Delaware Valley for nearly 100 years, continues to build on its legacy.
Mastroieni Furniture has been building on its name since 1926, when Nicola and Josephine Mastroieni first opened a modest Philadelphia storefront near the old Connie Mack Stadium. Although the store itself has since changed—Larry Sr., Nicola’s son, moved the store to its current location on Bethlehem Pike in Montgomeryville in 1974—Mastroieni Furniture’s commitment to excellence remains the same.
The shop offers a full line of furnishings—“something for every room,” says Bonnie Rosetti, who has been with the company for more than 20 years. “Lots of our families are now on their third, even fourth, generation of shoppers.”
Notable brands include Rowe Furniture, Southern Motion, Hickory Craft, and Universal, but these are just the tip of the iceberg.
In today’s world of quick-ship, big-box retailers, Mastroieni Furniture stands apart. Customization is king at this Montgomeryville destination, according to Larry Mastroieni, one of the store’s leading partners (along with his brother Nick) and a member of the third generation of Mastroienis to helm the furnishing empire.
“We pride ourselves in selling furniture made in America,” he says. “Most of our manufacturers offer the capability to customize, from fabrics to nail heads to trim. Customers can choose finishes or legs on sofas, so we can fine-tune much more than the big [retailers] to give customers exactly what they want.”
Looking ahead to trends for 2020, Bonnie forecasts increasing interest in grays and blues. She also sees rising demand for furnishings designed for comfort, utility, and sophistication.
“Traditional furniture has given way to transitional furniture, and a lot of formality has gone away,” she says. “Even in living rooms, people aren’t going as formal. A lot of homes are being built with a big great room, so many people don’t have a private living room anymore.”
Gone are the days of grandma’s treasured living room that’s meant for show rather than use.
“Things have a more comfortable feel, versus a living room you can’t sit in,” Bonnie says. “Also, we really don’t see too many home offices anymore. We sell a lot more writing desks and filing cabinets versus whole home-office sets. And a lot of recliners now have charge stations built in.”
“We’ve been here a long time, and we feel we have a responsibility to our community and our customers,” Larry adds. “We do a good job, and we know we’ve got to maintain quality and consistency—that’s the main thrust of what we do. We’re very hands-on. My brother and I are here virtually every day. Someone is always here to make sure items are being inspected and shipped according to plan.”
Such attention to detail may help to explain the company’s legacy of happy customers.
“We pay attention to every order,” Larry says. “A lot of this takes place in the back end, in the warehouse, but we make sure when we open up a product that it ships when we said it would, and that it goes out the door clean as a whistle and with everything operational.”
Unsurprisingly, Mastroieni Furniture refuses to rest on its laurels in all aspects of its business. That’s why the location’s designs and even the layout of the store continue to evolve as customers’ tastes change.
“Versus before, our interior is now all open,” Bonnie explains. “We still have some displays around the perimeter, but our old customers walk in and say, ‘Wow!’”
Bonnie emphasizes that in addition to quality and a proud tradition of serving customers with great merchandise and know-how, Mastroieni Furniture is proud to call itself a family business.
“Nick and Larry are the twin owners, then Nick’s wife Nancy works here,” she says. “I’ve been here for 22 years, and another of our team members, Tim Hood, has worked here since he was 18. This is not just a business to the Mastroienis. We’re a family. The Mastroieni family is full of good, hardworking, honest, caring people. Besides my husband and daughter, working here has been one of the true blessings of my life.”
Mastroieni Furniture
1113 Bethlehem Pike
Montgomeryville, Pa.
(215) 643-6372
mastroienifurniture.com
Photograph by Jody Robinson
Published (and copyrighted) in Suburban Life magazine, October 2019.
