Business Profile: Berniker Decorations, Yorktown
Photo credit: Neal Rentz
It has been an institution for over a century and the four generation family business has come back to Yorktown.
Whitey Berniker, president of Berniker Decorators, said last week his store originally opened in the Bronx in 1914.
A grand opening for its Yorktown store and a celebration for its over 100 years of existence is slated for June 13 from noon to 5 p.m., although the business is already open.
Members of the family-owned business reside in Montrose. They sell blinds, mainly made by Hunter Douglas, which Berniker described as “the premier blind company.” It also sells carpeting, drapery, and fabrics and about 50 percent of its business is reupholstery of furniture, Berniker said last week.
“We measure, we install, we design, we create,” Berniker said. “You’re always dealing with a family member here at the store.”
“The key to us is that we measure and install everything that we sell except for carpeting,” added Berniker, who has been in the business for about 45 years.
In 1986 the family closed the Bronx and NJ locations and moved the business to Croton-on- Hudson. After a decade in Croton, the business was moved to Yorktown Heights for a decade, where Whitey was joined by his wife, Denise. In 2003, the fourth generation of the Berniker family was added. Whitey and Denise’s son Scott joined the business about 15 years ago.
The business was moved to Katonah, where it was operated for 11 years before deciding to move back to the Underhill Plaza Shopping Center (at a location different from its original center site) recently. The family’s store had been in a shopping center in Katonah where CVS came in three months ago and are in the process of taking over five stores.
“We loved Yorktown. It’s a great area,” Berniker said. “We’re looking to create new friends and relationships.”
One of the store’s ongoing relationships is with the New York Yankees at their new stadium. “We did some upholstery work in the trainer’s room. We put up numerous blinds in an area where the average person doesn’t get to go,” Berniker said.
Berniker said he receives satisfaction from helping his customers. “You see somebody entering the showroom and they have no idea what they’re looking for so we kind of narrow the field,” he said. “A lot of people say they know what they don’t like.” Helping customers often requires shown a variety of types of a product, he noted.
Berniker said he enjoys the finished product of a redecorated home. “That’s what this is about, making people happy,” he emphasized.
Berniker explained the keys to the success of the family business. “We’re honest people. We do the right thing,” he said. “We’re in the habit of showing up on time and creating relationships. There are a lot of people out there who know us from the Bronx and it’s also working with their second generations. We’re four generations into the business but we’ve done work with their second generations already.”
Berniker Decorations is located in the Underhill Plaza shopping center at 1857 Commerce St. in Yorktown. For more information call 914-232-0133.
