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Business Outlook 2017
Sunday, February 26, 2017 • Special Advertising Section F •
Rulli Bros. celebrates 100 years in business
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By Natalie Wright nscott@vindy.com
ulli Bros., a local staple for many in the Mahoning Valley, is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year. The family-run business has had a full, rich history, both in forming Rulli Bros. and in the century since. “My great uncle Frank came from Cirella (town) in Reggio Calabria, Italy in 1898,” Michael Rulli wrote in a recent email interview. “He arrived in New York City for a month and headed to Youngstown, Ohio.” He then sent for his brothers. Among them was Nick, the youngest brother and Michael’s grandfather. The brothers sought and achieved jobs in the steel mills. “By the turn of the century they had saved up enough money to buy property on Early Road in Youngstown’s east side,” wrote Michael. Michael went on to say that his family had raised produce fields in
Italy for decades prior to coming to the United States. They purchased property and built a cottage. It was a natural move for them to then develop the land, which became a farm with more than a dozen employees. They sold their produce on street corners in Youngstown from 1903-1916. They opened their first store on Federal Street in 1917. Throughout the following 40 years, they went on to open four stores downtown and two restaurants, plus the Uptown Theater. “My grandfather had all of our business and the homestead built with yellow brick, which is still the case 100 years later,” Michael wrote. The original owners all passed away by the 1950s. Michael’s father, another Frank Rulli, took over the business at the age of 14. He even received a driver’s license at that age from the Ohio governor at that time, the only one in the state’s history. In a difficult turn for Rulli Bros., the City of Youngstown implemented an urban renewal program, pushing the Rulli businesses out of
downtown. The Rulli’s bounced back quickly, however, and in 1970 a new location on the corner of Mathews Road and South Avenue was built. In 1988, the location on the corner of Kirk Road and Racoon Road in Austintown opened. In 2009, the newest store location on the corner of Maple Avenue and South Avenue opened. Family has always been at the center of the Rulli legacy, and three out of four of Frank’s sons are still involved in the Rulli Bros. locations to this day. Nick, the eldest brother, is a lawyer in California. Frank Jr. is an architect on Federal Street and he works in the stores on the weekend. Michael and Mark, the youngest son, are in charge of daily operations at Rulli Bros., although their parents are still involved in day-to-day operations at the locations. Michael writes that family values play a major role in the business as well, and they enjoy extending those family values through working alongside their employees. “Every family member can perform every job in the company,”
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he wrote. “I ring the registers every day.” All Rulli Bros. locations close for holidays and on Sundays, both out of a religious aspect and in respect to their employees. Additionally, Michael takes an active role in making sure Rulli Bros. can offer fair prices to their customers. “Our pricing is some of the lowest in the entire country,” he said. “ I verify this daily on several websites.” Michael also noted that humility and attention to the customer is the most important goal for Rulli Bros. The family takes pride in the business’s operations, something that shows with each passing year. Rulli Bros. may further expand in the future, but it is something that must be considered carefully and responsibly, according to Michael. “We grow slowly because we pay for our future with our money to ensure that there is a future,” he said. With a successful 100 years behind them, the Rulli family and the Rulli Bros. businesses are looking to have an even brighter future ahead of them.
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