Schech’s Pool Spa Patio, Brewster
Putnam County’s first pool store is still going strong almost 50 years later.
Opening all the way back when Richard Nixon was president, Schech’s Pool Spa Patio has been a resource customers in Brewster and Putnam County have been able to rely on with a wide range of services and supplies to make not just summer, but every season enjoyable.
The business has been with the same family since it opened in 1969. The late Herb Schech, a homebuilder, and his wife Irene started the store when Herb realized more and more residents in the area wanted pools. He decided the solution was to open a pool maintenance shop and the success has been evident. The two daughters and son of Herb and Irene, Barbara, Irene and Edmund Schech took over and today, Barbara is the owner, but still works with her sister-in-law Barbara Schmitt-Schech and other relatives.
The family atmosphere is contagious, employees like Schmitt-Schech, Kate Corsitto and Bernadette Baker note.
“If you’re not family, you feel like family,” Kate Corsitto said.
Schech’s Pool offers essentially everything for a homeowner’s backyard needs, but installing the actual pool. They offer pool and spa maintenance and supplies, water toys, spa tubs, grills, and patio furniture. Additionally, it sells massage chairs and firewood for indoor needs.
Corsitto stressed Schech’s is a year round store. They have gifts for various holidays and occasions like housewarming gifts and Easter baskets.
Schech’s also offers a wide array of services, making sure to keep up to date on the latest technology. Employees go to training seminars in places like Atlantic City over the winter to make sure they know the newest services and supplies. Even something like pool cleaning has become high tech, going from simple suction cleaners to robots that clean pools.
Customers can even sample certain products before deciding if they want to make a purchase, including spa hot tubs. One hot tub is filled with water and running indoors during the winter and during the summer one is outside. If a customer wants to throw their bathing suit, they’re more than welcome to try it, Corsitto said.
“Trying to keep our customers happy as far as keeping them involved in our business,” Corsitto said. “We’re here for them. Our job is to serve our customers.”
For all the business Schech’s Pool does, it also has immersed itself in community organizations and functions. That list includes Brewster Education Foundation, Relay For Life, the Greater Mahopac-Carmel Chamber of Commerce, the Brewster Chamber of Commerce, and partners with Camp Herrlich on occasion.
For a business that started out of the Schech’s house, the store has become and remains a community staple.
