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Only an estimated 1,100 family businesses in the United States have lasted for 100 years or longer. Only 3% of businesses reach the fourth generation or beyond, according to the Family Business Institute.
Having reached both of those marks, Zeskind’s Hardware & Millwork has joined rare company.
The company’s fourth-generation owner and president, Rick Miller Jr., celebrated with his family, team and loyal customers during an event on September 20 at Park Hardware in Severna Park, where the Zeskind’s door and window showroom is located. Guests enjoyed food truck offerings, product demos and raffle prizes. They also learned about the company and how it has endured and thrived over the last century.
Today, Zeskind’s specializes in manufacturing and supplying residential, multi-family, and mixed-use millwork products including windows, interior doors, exterior doors, fine hardware and custom trim.
Like any longstanding business, Zeskind’s earned its positive reputation with excellent customer service. That all started with founder Sam Zeskind.
Sam Zeskind opened Zeskind’s Hardware at 222 South Payson Street in Baltimore in 1925. He ran the business successfully for nearly 50 years before selling it to his grandson and successor, Rick Miller Sr., and his wife, Debi, in 1973. Rick Miller Sr. was born to parents Miriam Zeskind and Irvin Miller in 1953 and worked at the store as a teenager — stocking shelves, repairing windows and screens, and assisting customers. So, he felt prepared to take over and grow Zeskind’s into a local staple for roofing materials and specialty hardware.
“My dad did roofing and flat-roof projects,” Rick Miller Jr. explained. “In the ‘70s, there were not a lot of those places. He went to landlords and property management companies and offered them locks and screen and glass repair.”
The Zeskind’s showroom in Severna Park bears only a small resemblance to the Baltimore store, which served a different customer base.
“Our business before was centered on Baltimore rowhomes and older buildings,” Rick Miller Jr. said. “That was a niche and specialty store. We didn’t have grass seed because there were no lawns. There were no grills. We had no suburban retail items.”
Like his father, Rick Miller Jr. learned the ins and outs of the business as a teenager. He spent the early ‘90s helping while earning a degree from Salisbury University’s Perdue School of Business. He then worked for various domestic and international millwork companies, and by 2008, he decided to save his family’s legacy business by joining Zeskind’s full-time, with a vision of modernizing and expanding the operation.
The company acquired a large warehouse across the street at 207 South Payson Street in Baltimore in 2008, and that site remains the hub of manufacturing and distribution. Between 2015 and 2016, custom millwork began.
Rick Miller Jr. completed the buyout of Zeskind’s and opened a showroom in Arnold in 2019. That showroom has since moved to Severna Park.
“Bringing in manufacturing millwork, cabinets, trim — that was my addition to the company,” Rick Miller Jr. said. “My background was millwork. I wanted to grow the company doing what I knew I could bring to the table. That took us from three employees to about 45, and about 12 times the gross sales.”
As part of his strategy, Zeskind’s acquired Lamar & Wallace, adding a 70,000-square-foot facility while doubling its staff and vehicle fleet in 2020. And in 2023, the company saw an opportunity to expand access to its millwork showroom and move its retail operation closer to home by acquiring Clement Hardware in Severna Park. Rick Miller Jr. and his staff transformed the space into Park Hardware with the Zeskind’s showroom inside.
The transition held a special significance for Rick Miller Jr., a Severna Park native who grew up in the Chartwell neighborhood and attended Benfield Elementary School, Severna Park Middle School and Severna Park High School.
“Our hardware store was a rowhouse in Baltimore. We would stop at Clement Hardware so we didn’t have to drive to Baltimore when we needed a nut or bolt,” Miller said last year as Park Hardware was undergoing upgrades. “It’s like a dream come true to be able to run this store.”
The two businesses have been ingrained in the community as sponsors of the Greater Severna Park and Arnold Chamber of Commerce’s Fourth of July parade and as wine bar sponsors of Art in the Park, the Severna Park Voice’s annual fall event in partnership with Cafe Mezzanotte. Zeskind’s and Park Hardware also support Boy Scouts and Girl Scouts, schools and youth groups, and nonprofits including Stef Ripple and the Katherine’s Light Foundation.
As a former Eagle Scout from Troop 855, based in St. Martin’s-in-the-Field Episcopal Church, Rick Miller Jr. makes sure to help the local scouting community.
“We thank the customers and employees. Without them, we wouldn’t be here,” Rick Miller Jr. said when asked why it’s important to give back.
Just like Rick and his wife, Joni Miller, and the previous stewards of the corporation, the Miller kids are involved in the store, bringing the fifth generation into the fold. Their 15-year-old daughter spent time at Park Hardware over the summer, and their 13-year-old son is about to start helping around the store.
Miller does not see Zeskind’s slowing down anytime soon. He hopes to refresh and expand the showroom, and work on Zeskind’s installation program with windows and doors.
“We’re going to keep streamlining, finding efficiencies and building the foundation for the next 100 years,” he said.
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