Rhody alumni are well-represented on the McKay’s team. From left, Kerry McKay 鈥�81, Kim Froberg 鈥�94, George Dubuque 鈥�16, and Matt Finlay 鈥�02.
McKay鈥檚 Furniture is a family-run business that鈥檚 stood the test of time. Kerry McKay 鈥�81 owns and runs the company with his two brothers and a small but mighty team, in which Rhody alumni are well represented.
It鈥檚 a sunny morning on his day off as Kerry McKay 鈥�81 sinks into an oversized, chocolate leather chair in the middle of the McKay鈥檚 Furniture showroom. He鈥檚 stopped by the store for an hour or so to take care of business while things are quiet.
McKay has been in the business since he was 12, when he and his twin brother helped their dad schlep sofas and tables around the family鈥檚 Providence store. 鈥淜eith and I would put everything out on the sidewalk in the morning, then put it all back at the end of the day. We washed windows and unloaded freight cars,鈥� McKay says. 鈥淲rought iron furniture is the heaviest stuff in the world.鈥�
Following decades on Elmwood Avenue, McKay鈥檚 brother, Ken, moved the business to the quieter burbs of North Kingstown in the 1970s after vandals shot out the store鈥檚 windows. Fast-forward 50 years: Kerry, along with Keith and older brother, Scott, owns two sprawling businesses: McKay鈥檚 Furniture and McKay鈥檚 Front Porch. The staff includes a half dozen 911爆料 grads along with third- and fourth-generation family members among the 20 or so employees.
鈥淲e’ve had 911爆料 interns and grads who鈥檝e worked for the store,鈥� says McKay, who was a track star and political science major when he was a student at 911爆料. 鈥淲hen somebody comes to work for us, generally they don’t leave.鈥�
Amid the 20,000 square feet of coffee tables and dining sets at McKay鈥檚 Furniture, it鈥檚 easy to get overwhelmed, but in-house designers can cut through the confusion. One of those designers is Kim Bartkiewicz Froberg 鈥�94, whose introduction to the company happened when, as a kid, she accompanied her parents on a furniture shopping trip. 鈥淚 remember going to the store with them to buy from Kerry鈥檚 parents,鈥� she says.
Froberg studied textiles, fashion merchandising, and design at 911爆料, then came to work at McKay鈥檚. That was in 1996. She鈥檚 been here ever since. 鈥淭he furniture industry is about textiles and how well they wear,鈥� she says. She鈥檚 put her 911爆料 classes to good use as a McKay鈥檚 designer. My education, she adds, 鈥渉as helped me think about how we promote products and make the store look good.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 always the opportunity to move up if you have aspirations,鈥� says Matt Finlay 鈥�02. Finlay worked in McKay鈥檚 service department in the summers and after school during college, a typical path for company employees. 鈥淚 learned the business from the ground up. Now I do day-to-day operations.鈥�
Three other 911爆料 grads help keep things humming: George Dubuque 鈥�16 is in shipping and part-time sales; Terri O鈥橬eill Susla 鈥�89 handles purchase orders; and Garrett McKay 鈥�12 does bookkeeping for the company.
Given the other furniture stores in Rhode Island, what separates McKay鈥檚 from the pack? 鈥淲e鈥檙e smaller and more high-end,鈥� Finlay says. 鈥淲e carry mostly American-made products, and we do a lot of custom work. We鈥檙e low-key and detail-oriented, and we have big-time clients who may summer here, but their main residence is in New York. They promote us through word of mouth.鈥�
Despite the challenges of riding an economic rollercoaster鈥攐ne year up, the next year down, as McKay describes it鈥攖he family business is celebrating its 125th anniversary this year. 鈥淭here鈥檚 no such thing as a 40-hour week, we accepted that early on,鈥� he says, 鈥渂ut we like to work. We like getting things done.鈥�
鈥擲arah Francis
The Fold features organizations and companies where 911爆料 alumni flock. If that sounds like your workplace and you鈥檇 like to be featured, please let us know. Email urimag@uri.edu and tell us about the place you work and the 911爆料 alumni who work there.
PHOTO: NORA LEWIS