DiSiena family marks 60th anniversary, continues furniture store tradition

MECHANICVILLE — What started over 60 years ago as a part-time appliance store founded to earn a young couple some extra income is now Mechanicville’s marquee business.

DiSiena Furniture survived numerous setbacks — including the unexpected death of its patriarch, a freak tornado and a changing business climate — to celebrate its 60th anniversary last year.

The store now has over 85,000 square feet of retail space in three different buildings.

The business started in 1947 when Angela and Bernard DiSiena refurbished their garage into a store where they sold televisions, air conditioners and kitchen cabinets.

The store’s first floor was dirt covered with canvas.

As Angela DiSiena visited customers measuring for and installing kitchen cabinets, she realized that there was a demand for other home products.

The business grew and eventually became a full-time job for the DiSienas.

After school, the family’s children spent much of their time in the store.

One of their daughters, Carol Zappone, who has now worked at the store for over 30 years, was one of those youngsters.

“My brothers and I would play house in the store, because we used to sell small appliances,” she said. “This was like our playhouse too, because we grew up next to the store.”

DiSiena now has about 45 employees, most of whom have worked for the company for over 10 years. Zappone said that many family members are involved in the business and the family doesn't bother with titles like vice president or president.

“My people here have been great. I think people like seeing people they know when they come back,” Zappone said. “People like that when they come in and they see family working, some people don’t like to deal with a big-box-type operation.”

The company was shocked when its founder, Bernard DiSiena, died unexpectedly in 1975, but his widow, Angela, remains active with the company today, filling in when needed with office work or customer service.

tornado hits

Another challenge came 10 years ago when a rare tornado ripped through Mechanicville. Angela DiSiena was eating dinner in the family’s home near the furniture showroom when she heard a gust of wind.

She left the kitchen to close a window in another room and before she came back, the glass window shattered onto the kitchen table where she had been sitting.

Zappone said that the store was open when the tornado hit but nobody was hurt in the storm. It was re-opened only a few days later.

“We did recover,” she said. “It took a while to get back on our feet. We were just thankful nobody got hurt. Anything materialistic can be replaced, a human being can’t be replaced.”

DiSiena is a bright spot in the city. Between the tornado, changing population trends and the near-disappearance of industry, there’s not a lot left of Mechanicville’s heyday.

The city has shrunk to a population of 3,000 and new businesses are scarce.

“To build it up it needs more business,” Zappone said. “There’s not much left in Mechanicville.”

Mechanicville County Supervisor Tom Richardson, who was re-elected last year, is trying to change that.

Richardson boasts about several new businesses in the city, including DC Sports and Excel Physical Therapy.

“We’re starting to fill buildings one at a time, and it’s not easy,” he said.

“At one time, the city of Mechanicville was the engine that ran Saratoga County.”

He said Mechanicville is 20 minutes away from anywhere in the Capital Region and that he wants it to be the downtown for surrounding areas.

“[The city needs to attract] younger people who have more disposable income,” Richardson added.

“That’s going to help the whole city.”

But despite the dwindling population, DiSiena Furniture has thrived.

changing displays

Each of the items in the company’s showroom are set up in living room, bedroom or kitchen settings.

Customers can easily browse through different displays, which change dramatically from a rustic living room to a child’s bedroom or a bar area.

All of the displays are designed by Zappone’s husband, Mike.

“When you buy a steak, it’s the sizzle that sells the steak,” he said. “If you just have a square room with white walls, it’s not going to have any interest.”

Mike Zappone walked through the showroom in December, showing off an attic room he created based on a line of furniture.

“That’s what accessories are all about,” he said.

“Otherwise it’s just another dresser, just another bed if you don’t have the right accessories on it.”

Carol Zappone said the company tries to offer a wide variety of products so the showroom is constantly changing, but she repeated that it was the company’s employees that have made it successful.

“You know what makes us different?” she asked rhetorically. “Our people. We have great staff.”

On a December afternoon, one of Zappone’s sales staff was showing Tiffany Torrey an arrangement of couches and chairs.

Torrey had come from the Shenendehowa Senior Center in Clifton Park to shop for a variety of living room items.

She said the center planned to convert one of its rooms into a casual setting, and that DiSiena was one of her first stops.

“I’m looking for some quality furniture that’s durable but within our price range. Something that’s simple yet looks nice,” she said. “[Everyone] has heard of DiSiena in this area.”