GLEN ELLYN – Don't tell Young's Appliances President Doug Samuels that his business is 85 years old.

He would prefer to think of it as 85 years young.

The business has been part of the downtown landscape for 85 years and originally was located at 494 N. Main St., which now houses the gift boutique Paisley on Main. Young's moved to its current location at 500 Crescent Blvd. in 1966.

Young's Appliances is the village's oldest retail business following the closure of McChesney and Miller grocery store in 2014 after 152 years in business, Glen Ellyn Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Mike Formento said. He believes Young's personal service has helped contribute to its longevity.

"You can go in and always talk to the owner of the business," Formento said. "Their success and longevity has really been based on customer service as well as their competitive pricing."

Young's Appliances sells a wide variety of appliances, including stoves, refrigerators, dishwashers and outdoor grills. Over the years, Formento himself has purchased several appliances from the store, including a refrigerator as well as a washer and dryer.

As part of its 85th anniversary celebration, Young's Appliances will have a customer appreciation sale from Feb. 29 to March 5. Another sale is being planned for the fall.

Samuels started with the store in March 1984. He began selling and delivering appliances for the store and moved up the ranks.

"I just learned the business from my father-in-law, Larry Young," Samuels said. "He was my mentor."

Young's father, Elmer, started Young's Appliances in 1931.

Prior to working at the store, Samuels was a high school coach and teacher and also worked for a time for a trucking firm. That coaching and teaching experience has come in handy at the store, he said.

"I view my activity with consumers much like the classroom where I am educating them on the products I'm selling," Samuels said. "The little pitfalls you have in business are not unlike athletics. Every day is a new game."

Samuels also must educate consumers on why they should walk into his store rather than a big-box store. Experience and personal service help set Young's Appliances apart from other stores, he said.

"I have a staff here that has been around more than a couple of years," Samuels said. "I've got salesmen who have been here from seven to 15 years, and myself, I've been here more than 30 years. Big-box stores don't have service. They rely on outside deliveries, and they rely on outside service providers. They don't control any of that."

Young's Appliances' commitment to service hasn't gone unnoticed. The store earned the esteemed 2015 Super Service Award from Angie's List.

"It is an honor to receive this award for the third year and consecutively since becoming members of the Angie's List community," Samuels said. "We are blessed with the opportunity to service the best customers in DuPage County and Chicagoland."

Over the years, Samuels has seen his fair share of changes and trends in the appliance industry. These days, he said kitchens aren't just slabs of cabinets stuck together.

"They've gone from having the proverbial work triangle to a new term that we call work stations," Samuels said. "Homes are being built and existing homes are being converted to open up the kitchen space, and it becomes part of the living space. The cooking process has become more of a social event, where more than one person is involved in the making of the meal."

Samuels, a Glen Ellyn resident, also believes in giving back to the community. The store supports a number of organizations, and Samuels is a former president of the Board of Directors of the B.R. Ryall YMCA, where he oversaw a $6 million capital campaign for reconstruction of the facility and a building addition.

Samuels hopes that Young's Appliances will continue to serve customers well into the future.

"I'm not looking at retiring and closing the doors," Samuels said. "If I retire, it will be because I found somebody to carry on the business."

---

Know more

Information about Young's Appliances is available at its website, youngsappliances.com.