WE EXIST, TO BE OF SERVICE, TODAY, TOMORROW, AND INTO THE NEXT CENTURY!
1958
It all started when the first Aluminum Refrigerator Door Company was created by a Mr. Buchbinder in Louisville, Kentucky...ARDCO. What evolved as a new way to merchandise cold beverages eventually developed itself into Frozen Food & Ice Cream, doing away with coffin-style cases. Soon enough, the Refrigerator door market exploded to what you see today.
Now, there was a need to repair these doors. An older German fella, by the name of Alex Hunter, was located on the North Shore of Long Island in Huntington, NY and became interested in the potential the industry held. Hunter was able to earn representation in Metro New York for service and repair of these Aluminum Refrigerator Doors starting back in 1958 when the first door was created.
1988
Fate brought Alex Hunter and our father, Pete Rizzo together when they met somewhere on Long Island at a local deli where Alex had a refrigerator glass door laid out on a table, operating on it like a surgeon. As luck would have it, our father Pete Rizzo and Alex Hunter were both at a crossroads in their lives. Alex had just experienced a tragic loss of his young daughter, who was hit by a driver on her bicycle in the Town of Huntington close to his home. Our father had just been laid off by one of the largest refrigeration companies in Metro NY at the time called MEBCO. The two men came to an agreement for some material and a small independent client base consisting of local delis, bakeries, butcher shops, as well as flower shops.
After that, Pete had two more children to support (David & Gina Marie), with me (Daniel Rizzo), finishing up my last year of college. I had already made my mind up and was set up with my Uncle Jim's buddy to be a Stock Trader on Wall Street. I had no intention of having a work truck and playing with tools that I grew up with naturally all my life. Let's face it …I wanted to wear $3,000 suits and work on Wall Street, not turn wrenches in neighborhoods that you wouldn't leave your children behind in. All the while, Pop Rizzo was starting his days at 4am to service the entirety of Long Island as well as locations in the city.
1989
Pop called me during my last semester of college in September of 1989 and he said, “Dan, I really feel good about this glass refrigerator & freezer door market. All I need is for you to knock on the door of every Supermarket Chain and call on 7-Eleven, and we can really have a nice business for ourselves.” Well, I was young, dumb, and full of you know what… I never took “NO” for an answer. I didn't even know what “NO” meant.
I was committed, and I knew we had the MOST VALUABLE SERVICE at the time and even more so today. With that I entered the family business. Mom helped to organize the home (basement) office while Pop and I met clients—even my Brother David remembers being pulled out of Middle School when we needed an extra set of hands.
1990-92
Just like that we gained a client in Pathmark Supermarkets and 7-Eleven. My Dad’s baby Brother John (my Uncle John who is now our CFO) was brought on board to take care of the books and get us paid. We were saving clients thousands of dollars—not doing business with us only hurt their bottom line. The new Gina Marie trucks (rolling billboards) started to venture down to Jersey, Pennsylvania, and even to Delaware.
1993
We got out of the basement and moved into our first commercial building in Amityville. With a nice carpeted showroom for Walk-Ins and Swinging Doors, we were really doing it. We recruited family member after family member in my Uncle Paul, Aunt Gloria, and my brother Dave “Riggs” Rizzo.
2002
After upgrading our locations, personnel, and our craft, the two largest supermarket groups A&P and Pathmark combined. We had been servicing each of the respective Supermarket chains separately but when they all joined we were servicing one group, which put us in a really bad position when they went bankrupt in July of 2015.
2018
The dust has settled and we continue to service ACME, ShopRite, Stop & Shop, Costco, Kings, Redners, along with 7-Eleven stores—on top of performing installations for all the top Food Service Equipment Dealers in the Tri-State area. We have been recognized as a quality installation and service company that not only gets big projects performed on time, but we provide the follow up service that our clients deserve and enjoy receiving.
We are a rock solid company, looking to expand our concept and knowledge in multiple cities across the Nation. We are looking for folks with the same core values, morals, and beliefs to provide the best service possible with the utmost integrity. Our desire is to help those families provide for their families the way my grandfather and my father provided for me, my brother David, and sister Gina Marie.
We are continually growing and diversifying to satisfy the needs of our clients. Our list of services extends well beyond commercial glass refrigerator doors. Today we offer our clients creative solutions for repairs and new installations of the following equipment:
- Glass Reach-In display Doors
- Walk-In Box doors
- Walk-In Cold Storage Boxes to Warehouses Installed
- Slicing Glass Service Doors
- Bakery Retarder and Proof Boxes
- Bi-Parting Metal Swing Doors
- Plastic Traffic Swing Doors
- Energy Guard Flap Doors for Freezer and Coolers
- Flexible Strip Curtains and Strip Curtain Doors
- Cold and Warm Air Curtain Doors
- Lighting in Display Cases
- Heating Elements for Doors and Frames
- Display Case Glass Replacements (Euro-curve and Flat)
- Case Protection Products (Corner Guards and Bumpers)
- Equipment Transfer, Carting, Setting and Installation
- Custom Metal Bending, Welding and Fabrication