Shorewood family-owned mattress company celebrates 50th anniversary

Years ago, Rick Brocies, owner of City Wide Mattress in Shorewood, feared the water bed trend might close his business.

Then one February day, when Rick Brocies was “really close to going broke,” he said his mattress salesman invited him to take a ride to “a little bitty store” in Dubuque, Iowa, to meet a friend. He watched the owner of that store sell almost $5,000 in water beds. That owner also connected Rick Brocies with a water bed distributor in Waukegan.

“So I got in the car one day and drove up there. Two weeks later, I drove up in the truck and picked up the beds.”

When Rick Brocies opened City Wide Mattress 50 years ago at 700 W. Jefferson St. in Shorewood, the concept of a specialty mattress store in Will County was a new one, he said. Since then, City Wide Mattress has withstood competition from other mattress stores, including independent stores, franchises and megastores. City Wide Mattress has won multiple Herald-News Readers Choice awards.

Ten out of 10 times, when someone walks through that door, they say, ‘We’ve bought all our beds here’ or I just moved here and my employer told me to come here.’”

—  Rick Brocies, co-manager, City Wide Mattress in Shorewood

Rick Brocies credits his business success to plenty of print advertising and customer-friendly service.

“My store goes the extra mile,” he told the Herald-News more than 20 years ago. “We’ll move a piece of furniture and we have actually taken old bedding across town to a daughter’s home or something like that. I always tell my people to treat others the way you want to be treated.”

A ‘family legacy’ in transition

These days, Rick Brocies is stepping back from day-to-day operations, and his children, DeAnna Borracci and Ross Brocies, are stepping up to manage “the family legacy.”.

Borracci said she’s worked at City Wide Mattress in some capacity since she was 17. Ross Brocies said he recently moved back to the area from Montana with his wife, Kara Brocies, a registered nurse at Morris Hospital, and their 2-year-old daughter and identical twin boys.

So how is the transition going?

“We’ve been busy,” Rick Brocies said.

Ross Brocies said he learned from Rick Brocies to “continually reinvent myself,” so he is applying that principle to his marketing strategy. So while Rick Brocies relied heavily on print advertising, Ross Brocies is using combination of print, digital and social media.

Borracci said City Wide Mattress also has a tradition of sponsoring youth sports, Team Make a Difference and local fundraising events.

Still, the most robust medium is still word-of-mouth from satisfied customers, Rick Brocies said.

“Ten out of 10 times, when someone walks through that door, they say, ‘We’ve bought all our beds here’ or I just moved here and my employer told me to come here,’ Rick Brocies said.

City Wide Mattress is so well-known in the community, marketing efforts are more to remind people of its presence when they are for those who are mattress shopping.

“All we have to do is put the idea in their head,” Rick Brocies said.

“Word-of-mouth” recommendations include those given on social media.

“We always see our name attached to it,” Borracci said.

Nevertheless, Rick Brocies insists print advertising is still very relevant. “People like to have visuals. They like to have a picture of something. Seventy percent of the people walking through that door have that ad in their hand.”

‘White glove service’

Rick Brocies previously told The Herald-News that he grew up in Plainfield and that his stepfather had been an ironworker. He majored in English at Lea College in Minnesota, graduating in 1970.

He worked in construction and then at the Beacon-News in Aurora for a year as a retail ad salesman until he met a man who started a mattress business in Aurora. He worked for that man part-time and eventually became part owner of that business.

Eventually, Rick Brocies started his business in Shorewood because that retail space was available and the price reasonable. So he followed up on the opportunity.

“That’s the way things worked out.”

Rick Brocies even tacked up his first dollar.

However, he also keeps the dollars spent in his store in the community by hiring local people. More than 20 years ago, Rick Brocies told The Herald-News that businesses must do three things: pay your taxes, pay your employees and advertise. “I’m always the last guy to get paid.”

Rick Brocies said he a physical store in the community still beats shopping online for mattresses.

“You can walk into a brick and mortar store and try it out.”

Ross Brocies and Borracci also said they feel customers value City Wide Mattress’ community presence. Ross Brocies said City Wide Mattresses delivery people are local people. “That makes customers feel comfortable in saying, ‘Hey, I left the door unlocked for you.’”

And even as City Wide Mattress transitions into its next 50 years, Ross Brocies has pledged one thing: “To uphold the customer service that my father has given to his community for 50 years. It is white glove service that separates us.”

IF YOU GO

WHAT: City Wide Mattress

WHEN: 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Mondays, closed Tuesdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays; 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturdays and 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Sundays.

WHERE: 700 W. Jefferson St. Shorewood

INFO: Call 815-744-5212 or visit citywidemattress.com.