BRISTOL – An office furniture business, Discount Office Solutions, is planning to move into the former CT Bike & Skate location on 80 South St., relocating from Waterbury.
Al LaPorta, owner of Discount Office Solutions, spoke in September at an Economic and Community Development meeting to announce his intentions to relocate his family business to Bristol. According to the city records, LaPorta said at that meeting that he “anticipates growth including job creation.”
City records also indicate, in an October Community Development Block Grant report, that LaPorta has now closed on the property and “is expected to be back in November with a Downtown Grant request” as part of the relocation.
LaPorta said Wednesday that he plans to be open for business by the end of the year. He plans to hang banners this weekend to let the community know he is coming.
“My grandfather started the business in 1975, then my father took over and I got involved in the mid-80s,” said LaPorta. “Now, my sons are working with me. We’re a fourth generation business. People like dealing with a multi-generational family-owned business that has been running things the same way for years. ”
LaPorta said that Discount Office Solutions has been successful, in part, due to having a large selection and inventory and being a “full service dealer.”
“We do our own design work in house and we also buy, sell and take trade-ins,” said LaPorta.
LaPorta says he is looking forward to moving his family business to Bristol.
“I moved to Bristol in 1998 with my family,” said LaPorta. “We decided that we needed a better location and I thought that there would be nothing better than to live and work in the same location.”
LaPorta said that he hopes that the 80 South St. location will bring an increase in traffic, since it is along a main road. He said he is seeking a Downtown Grant to remodel the space and make it their own.
“We have been in business now for more than 40 years and we’re looking to move into a place that we can stay in and that my sons can continue the business in,” said LaPorta.
Mayor Jeff Caggiano said that it was “great” to see a new business coming to Bristol, especially in downtown.
“We want to see development continue downtown, not just at Centre Square, but also the surrounding streets,” he said. “Our goal is to see 3,000 jobs created downtown.”
Caggiano said that Discount Office Solutions will be a “great new business” in Bristol.
The following is an excerpt from evolvemyoffice.com, the Discount Office Solutions website:
“Since 1975, four generations of the LaPorta family have served companies and individuals with custom-made furniture solutions for their home and office needs. Discount Office Solutions buys and sells new, pre-owned, and refurbished office furniture and cubicle work stations in all styles, finishes and fabrics ranging from traditional to modern.”
CT Bike & Skate, which previously occupied the location, had been operated by Jim and Marie Parrott for 40 years. They closed the location on Sept. 27.
Brian M. Johnson can be reached at 860-973-1806 or [email protected]
