Farrey’s Lighting & Bath:

A Miami Fixture For More Than 80 Years

1-888-854-5483 Toll-Free Phone

http://www.farreys.com

Since its inception, Farrey’s has seen its share of challenges. Just two years after its founding on Collins Avenue in Miami Beach, the small general store, then named Farrey’s Hardware Co., faced its first major hurdle, the Hurricane of 1926. John J. Farrey (founder) and his son Francis Xavier saw the sea literally rush into their store for a full day and night and then saw their merchandise float away down the street.

Francis would go on to face other challenges as he guided the family business through the depression of the 1930s and right through the 1940s. It was during the 1950s that Francis focused the company on lighting and bathroom fixtures. In the 1960s, Francis brought his two sons into the family business, the third generation, Bud and Frank Farrey. During this time, Farrey’s provided hardware for the original Fontainebleau Hotel, the Americana Hotel (Sheraton Bal Harbor) as well as most of the Art Deco hotels on Miami Beach. Several of the Art Deco hotels on Miami Beach still have original Farrey’s hardware to this day.

It was in 1980 that Farrey’s Hardware Co. saw their next major obstacle. The buildings that housed their showroom and warehouse near Liberty City were completely destroyed by a fire that burned for two days as a result of the civil disturbances in Miami. The Farrey family once again showed their fortitude, tenacity and spirit. Thirteen days later, the Farrey’s bought their current building in North Miami and 22 days after that, the business was back up and running. The company moved the merchandise that survived, 78, 45-foot trailers of merchandise, to their present day location. The Farrey family is proud to note that all 100 employees at the time were kept on the payroll during that difficult transition.

As Farrey’s continued to evolve in the 1980s and 1990s from a hardware store to a decorative lighting and bath store, management realized that the company would be better able to serve the community with a second location. It was in 1997 that Farrey’s decided to open a second store in Coral Gables. In a short four years, Farrey’s outgrew their 9,000 square foot second location, which served the Coral Gables/South Miami communities. In 2001, the second store was moved to Coconut Grove where it still stands today with close to 30,000 square feet of merchandise.

Both the showroom in North Miami and Coconut Grove are divided into two areas: lighting and decorative bath and hardware. The size of the facilities gives Farrey’s designers the luxury of space, enabling them to feature each of the lighting and bath fixtures.

Today, the company is led by the third and fourth generations of the Farrey family. Bud Farrey (Chairman and President) and Frank Farrey (Senior Vice President and Treasurer) have continued to develop the business during the last three decades. They are joined by two of Bud’s children, Paige Farrey (Marketing Director) and Kevin Farrey (Director of Internet Sales) representing the fourth generation of Farreys in the family business. But Farrey’s employees go well beyond family. Almost half of Farrey’s employees have been with the company at least 10 years while 15 percent of the employees have been with the company for at least 20 years.