Four companies in business for 100-plus years share secrets of success

• John Varney of Brewer's Hardware says "many of our customers have been shopping here for more than 40 years."
• Martin Van Buren and author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat Washington Irving broke bread at the Clarksville Inn. Just not together.
• R. Abbate and Sons creates custom-carved grave headstones, monuments, memorials and mausoleums
• Gracelane Kennels has had just three owners in its long history.

Starting a business presents challenges even in the best of times; and trials and tribulations may lie down the road while trying to stay in business. Companies that have been around for 100 years or longer are the embodiment of resilience and still capture America's entrepreneurial spirit.

"Businesses that survived the Great Depression, World Wars, recessions and anything life throws at them must know what they are doing," says Marcia Gordon, president of the Business Council of Westchester. "I'm sure these businesses will be thriving 100 years from now."

Here are four stalwarts in our area.

R. Abbate & Sons, Yonkers & Hastings

R. Abbate & Sons Inc. has been dealing with grave situations for well over a century.

The company that creates custom-carved grave headstones, monuments, memorials and mausoleums was founded in Yonkers in 1903 by Roger Abbate. It's now owned and run by one of Abbate's great-grandsons, 52-year-old Roger Abbate Jr., who expanded the company 15 years ago when he bought the 111-year-old Pulver-Huess Memorials in Hastings-on-Hudson.

Combined, Abbate & Sons and Pulver-Huess work on about 300 monuments a year. Their services include acquiring, lettering and repairing headstones, as well as creating ground-level bronze memorial plaques and designing the occasional mausoleum.

Though the headstones come pre-shaped from a quarry, Abbate etches the majority of the memorials' inscriptions and artwork by hand. He uses a diamond-tipped etching tool and performs the work at Pulver-Huess and Westchester cemeteries (Mount Hope, Gate of Heaven, Kensico, St. Joseph, St. Mary and Oakland) as well as those in in New Jersey and Connecticut. His prices range from $700 to thousands.

As for the future of R. Abbate & Sons/Pulver-Huess, Abbate's children — ages 18, 14 and 10 — are still too young to make firm decisions about their futures, Abbate says. "We'll have to wait and see."

The secret to our success: "We do good work and have developed very good customer service," Abbate says. "We don't give our customers the hard sell, and they see that we're a family."

Gracelane Kennels, Ossining

Gracelane had just two owners when Bob Gatti bought it in 1976 — a retired sportsman built the Ossining boarding facility for dogs and cats in 1911 — after he had decided to ditch his corporate life as a shoe buyer and designer. "I thought it was important to settle down in one spot and do what I really want to do in life," says Gatti, who is now in his 70s. Gatti is Gracelane's president; his son Chris, 31, is the vice president and has been involved with the facility since he was a child. Gatti and family live on Graceland's 8 acres, and two attendents monitor the facility, which can board up to 200 cats and dogs at a time, day and night.

"When I bought it, everything was painted dark green and gray," says Gatti. "Coming out of the fashion business, I wanted bright colors, and this is a very visual business."

Gatti credits Gracelane's longevity to its readiness to change with the times. Thanks to Chris' technical prowess, each pet's private indoor stall and outside area has its own webcam so owners can check on their furry friends during business hours. Chris' expterise also enables Gracelane to have a solid presence on social media.

And as with any business, says Gatti, staying in business is all about customer satisfaction: "You have to have high standards or customers won't come back." And Gracelane's customers do come back — from Westchester, Putnam, Connecticut, New Jersey, Connecticut and Manhattan. "Many vets board their dogs here."

The Gattis' love and respect for animals also keeps Gracelane in the black. "I have a connection to them," Gatti says. "They're so affectionate and nice. But more than that, you have to recognize that you're watching people's family members; pets are like their sons and daughters."

The secret to our success: "Our honesty and how we treat people and their pets give us a great reputation," Gatti says. "Just like any other business, you have to run it the right way."

Clarksville Inn, West Nyack

How many restaurants can boast they served a sitting U.S. president and one of America's greatest 19th-century figures? The eighth Commander in Chief (from 1837 to 1841), Martin Van Buren, and author, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat Washington Irving broke bread (but not together) at West Nyack's Clarksville Inn Restaurant and Pub.

Originally opened in 1840 as a hotel and gathering place for local patrons to dine and socialize, today the Inn serves classic American cuisine.

Two features of the original building remain: the frame and an interior stone wall, says Jerry Reilly, one of the three owners. Old photos on the walls also harken back to decades past.

The Clarksville is also trying to preserve the inn's legacy by working with Heritage of West Nyack (www.heritageofwestnyack.org), a nonprofit that works to preserve and promote the hamlet's legacy.

The secret to our success: "People appreciate its historical significance and how important it was during the Revolutionary War," says Reilly. "And its reputation for good food has been well known in Rockland for generations."

R.G. Brewer, Mamaroneck

In 1879, many of Westchester's transportation needs relied on ships, and a good number of the county's harbors were along the Long Island Sound. That's why R.G. Brewer bought a Mamaroneck hardware store and added marine supplies to his inventory of merchandise.

Cut to 2014. The store's name has changed — it's now Brewer True Value Hardware — but it remains in its original location and still carries hardware and building supplies. The store's inventory of marine goods includes life jackets, oars, oar locks, sump pumps, bilge pumps, fuel tanks, gasoline hookups for outboard motors, snaps, hooks, marine flags, air horns, flairs, and marine paints and finishes. It's also still owned by a Brewer: the fourth-generation John Brewer, to be exact.

According to John Varney, who's been a Brewer purchasing rep for the past 31 years, the East Boston Post Road store has outlasted Mamaroneck's seven or so other hardware stores.

"We offer personalized service from sales associates with enough knowledge to help people with their plumbing, electrical, paint, and lawn and garden needs," says Varney. "Those are our big advantages over Home Depot."

Those pluses are also probably why, says Varney, "many of our customers have been shopping here for more than 40 years."

Most if not all of Westchester's Sound Shore towns have large groups of boaters, a factor that also plays to Brewer's advantage. Other marine places on Boston Post Road have been gone for at least five years, says Varney, "So we're filling that niche to some degree."

The secret to our success: Personalized service and knowing the basic needs of the area.