Dondero Jewelry

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Dondero's Jewelry was established in 1948, when Charles J. Dondero opened a small jewelry shop in his home on North Delsea Drive, as a side business to his primary job as a glass blower at Kimble Glass. He started the business on the principles that no job was too small or unimportant when it concerned his customers, and that customers deserved to be treated the way he would like to be treated. Soon after Charlie's death in 1959, F.C. "Bud" Dondero purchased the business from the estate and moved the store to its long-standing location at 848 Arbor Avenue., NJ in Deepwater, and the store was operated on a part-time basis by Bud, his wife Betty, and Bud's brother-in law, Bennie Bruun. Except for the month of December, the store was open Thursday, Friday and Saturday each week. In the spring of 1979, Bud's son, Ken, made arrangements to purchase 90% of the business from his father. Eight years later, in 1987, he completed the acquisition. Betty retained 10% of the ownership. The store was then open on a full-time basis, with Bud, Bennie and Betty playing key roles in its development. Ken's wife Julie came into the business in 1982, his sister Mary in 1984, and his long time friend and brother-in-law Kevin Kleiner came to the firm in 1986, from a career in the plastics industry with Dougherty Brothers. Kevin shared a common business philosophy with Ken, and quickly became an integral part of the organization. Business volume continued to grow, and in 1988 Kevin agreed to purchase half of Ken's personally owned shares of the business. It was after this point that Kevin and Ken began to seek out a new, larger location. Their search, ironically, led them to the property on Delsea Drive where the business had originated. The property had been sold after Charlie's death by his survivors. After acquiring the property, the store building was built by Waldo Enterprises, which rents to Kevin and Ken exclusively. The business moved from 848 Arbor Avenue to its present location at 2439 North Delsea Drive on May 6, 1991. After the move, expansion of operations came quickly, and the personnel base was expanded to meet the new volume. Sadly, in February of 1994, Dondero's Jewelry lost the physical presence of its patriarch, Bud, when he passed away. Ken and Kevin lost their confidant and counsel, but were left with the spirit of the business that was given to Bud by his father. And even though Kevin and Ken are now the sole owners of Dondero's Jewelry Inc, they see to it that the business adheres to the fifty eight-year-old philosophy that has brought the business to this point.