Norwalk Jewelers Celebrate 70 Years In Business

NORWALK, CT — When Lawrence Pellegrini's father, Loreto, opened a jewelry store in 1951 on Washington Street, the area was filled with "mom and pop" stores and other small businesses.

While many of those businesses have since closed or relocated, Pellegrini Jewelers is still serving customers in South Norwalk 70 years later.

"This is a great honor for my family and my wife that we made 70 years in Norwalk," Lawrence Pellegrini said. "I love the community."

On Wednesday, Mayor Harry Rilling dropped by the long-standing store to mark this milestone by issuing a special proclamation, celebrating and honoring Pellegrini Jewelers for their many years spent serving the Norwalk community.

"If you look at a business such as this, they have customers that have been coming here for years," Rilling said. "This is a repeat kind of business. They've built up a customer base for being here so long, and then you have that loyalty factor where customers will come back time and time again."

The business is currently run by Lawrence Pellegrini and his wife, Carol, and many of their customers have been coming to the store for decades. As such, they are treated like family every time they enter the store.

"It's a good feeling," Pellegrini said, "when people come in and say their grandparents brought them in here when they were little...they're not just customers, they've become more of a family to me."

Rilling said it was important to honor businesses that have a long history in Norwalk, especially a small, family-run one.

"We want to bring attention to our small business community and make sure that we work with them and that they have the resources they need in order to keep going," Rilling said. "When you see a business that's been here for 70 years, it's quite impressive."

The mayor also acknowledged that many small businesses in Norwalk have struggled for over a year as a result of the ongoing coronavirus crisis.

"We recognize that fact," Rilling said, "and we want to do everything we can to keep you flourishing and thriving in any way that we can help out."

He noted the town is working closely with small business owners and encouraged anyone with concerns or issues to reach out and see how they can work together.

"The small businesses," Pellegrini said, "I feel are still the lifeblood of this community...we need them for diversity, because we don't carry what the mall carries. We carry other things."

As he reflects on the decades he has spent running the store first opened by his father 70 years ago, Pellegrini said the South Norwalk area has always been a perfect fit for his family's store.

"My parents started down in South Norwalk when it was all mom and pop [stores], and I just feel that it's my town," Pellegrini said. "I grew up down here and I feel comfortable here. Yes, we could've moved different places, but I'm a South Norwalk person. I just like the vibe of South Norwalk."

While 70 years in business is a milestone worth celebrating, Pellegrini can hardly believe that much time has passed.

"It doesn't feel like 70 years, it really doesn't," Pellegrini said, "but I'm glad that we're able to do that. In hindsight, I wish my parents were around to see this, but they would be over 100 by now. I just like that my father started this and I was able to continue this in his name."

He also takes pride in selling engagement rings and other precious items that are purchased to mark special occasions like an anniversary or wedding; items that often act as symbols of something special, which customers can cherish and carry with them throughout their entire life.

"When they get that engagement ring," Pellegrini said, "they're going to look at that and say they got it at Pellegrini's."