About History
When two brothers - Benny and Joe Friedman - started a small junk store in downtown Petaluma just after World War II, little did they know what their dream would become over 60 years later.
Benny's son, Bill Friedman, and his uncle, Harry Friedman, guided the company's growth to three stores in two counties. Today, Bill's son, Barry Friedman, has joined his dad in the family business. Three generations of Friedman's now celebrate over 60 years of success, over 60 years of being able to give back to their community, and over 60 years of forging customer relationships that mean more today than ever.
To our 385 employees, our vendor partners, and our thousands of customers throughout the North Bay - we'd like to say thanks for making our dream so much more than we ever could have imagined. And we'd like to think to that maybe we've helped just a little in making your dreams come true too.
Here's to the next 60 years of being your community home improvement center!
The two brothers had jointly saved $4,000 from their Army pay during World War II. When they returned home from the war, they quickly recognized that the local demand for materials had been difficult to obtain during the war. Joe and Benny began working at that time to support their mother and three younger siblings. They developed an excellent partnership, strengthened by their love and mutual respect for each other and their family. Through their hard work the brothers grew the business by taking care of customers one at a time, watching costs, and reinvesting their profits back into the company. In 1963 they incorporated the business as Friedman Bros. Hardware. In 1970, they opened their dream store in Santa Rosa. Located across the street from the property where they had grown up, they opened the largest hardware and building materials store in Sonoma County. This store, eventually, grew to 100,000 square feet on 13 acres of property. In 1985, Benny and Joe retired with Joe transferring his interest to his youngest brother Harry, and Benny transferring his interest to his son Bill. Under Bill and Harry's leadership the Company expanded from the one store to three, with Sonoma being added in 1993 and Ukiah in 1996. In 1999, Bill bought out Harry's one-half interest in the Company. Since Bill acquired Friedman's Bros., he has emphasized the company's need to improve every aspect of its operation. He has created a new brand of Friedman's Home Improvement with a fresh, green color scheme that offers the customer a "bright, crisp and clean" environment in which to shop. With product that is project oriented, lowest price period guarantee, and an informative, hassle free, shopping experience, Friedman's wants to be the customers preferred home improvement center. He is proud of his heritage and has learned many lessons from his father and uncles. He knows and shares with the entire Friedman Team the value of hard work and taking care of our customers, one at a time.
