Dunk & Bright

About Us — Here Since 1927

Dunk & Bright Furniture is the largest furniture mattress and carpet showroom in New York State, located in Syracuse, NY. We feature IDS and ASID certified interior design staff and have extensive custom order furniture capabilities. Most of our customers are located in Central NY and the Greater Syracuse area, but we can deliver to Utica, Rochester, Watertown, Binghamton and Ithaca. We have over twenty five experienced salespeople and interior decorators to assist you. We offer in-home complimentary interior design, with our certified interior decorators. Our furniture selection includes bedrooms, dining rooms, living rooms, mattresses, wall to wall carpeting and area rugs, as well as office & contract furniture. Our selection ranges from modest price furniture such as Ashley, up to and including the very finest furniture made, such as Harden Furniture.

History

1927-1962:

Dunk & Bright was founded in 1927 by William Bright Sr. and William Dunk Sr. in Syracuse's Brighton Neighborhood on South Salina Street. Bill Bright Sr. was a furniture salesman from Bridgeport, Connecticut, who came to Syracuse with the dream of opening his own business. Bill Dunk Sr., was an Englishman, born in Kent, who came to the United States as a teenager. He went to work for H.H. Franklin, a car company located in Syracuse, and worked himself up to production manager. Dunk & Bright met on the floor of Brown, Curtis & Brown, a furniture store in downtown Syracuse. Bill Dunk was impressed with Bill Bright, who waited on him and his wife when they dropped in to buy furniture. Dunk told Bright that he was a good salesman, and that he ought to go into business for himself. He agreed to put up the money, and they started the store. Mr. Bright ultimately paid Mr. Dunk $5,000 for his share of the business. When Mr. Bright died in 1939, brother-in-law, John Monahan, took over and was in charge until he died, in 1952. Pat Bright Sr., son of the founder, became president in 1952.

1991:

Over the years, Dunk & Bright has expanded several times. In 1991, 12,000 square feet were added. The store now covered the entire corner of South Salina St. and Brighton Ave. Soon after the expansion, following a successful business career in Washington, DC and New York City, Pat's son Jim moved back to Syracuse and in 1993 purchased Dunk & Bright from Pat.

1998:

In 1998, Dunk & Bright expanded again. A 13,000 square foot addition was added in order to get more furniture in the store, and create more business.

2002:

In 2002, a new facade was put on the building. This gave it a fresher, newer look. Also, the bridge that led customers over to the second building, along with a portion of that building, were demolished in order to create a larger parking lot for the increased amount of customers heading to Dunk & Bright.

Today:

In 2006, yet another addition was built onto Dunk & Bright. This was the largest yet...25,000 square feet to be filled with even more beautiful furniture. That same year, the South Side Innovation Center was born. SSIC, which is sponsored by Syracuse University, is located in the Dunk & Bright's building across the parking lot from the main store. It is supporting an entrepreneurial renaissance in a neighborhood with untapped potential. It holds more than 13,000 square feet of usable space for shared business services, the WISE Center, and a large classroom for training and teaching. Today, Dunk & Bright's showroom is nearly 100,000 square feet. It is considered to be the largest furniture showroom in New York State. Dunk & Bright also operates a 1,000,000 cubic foot distribution center at a separate location in Liverpool, NY at 4530 Steelway Blvd. South, off Morgan Rd.