One hundred years is a long time.
Who better to understand that than the owners of Curry Floor and Acoustics, a South Sioux City business anchor that celebrated its 100th year of existence last week with a party at its downtown location at 2510 Dakota Avenue.
Ben Curry is the fourth-generation owner of the business, which started with his great-grandfather Wallace Curry setting up the business just south of the current location.
Curry noted that the family business is so old, it’s older than — well, a lot of things.
“Sliced bread,” he started. “It started before Mickey Mouse, the Great Depression, construction of the Empire State Building, bubble gum and even before the Star Spangled Banner was adopted as our national anthem.”
The business has long been the go-to source for everything from flooring to carpeting. In the early days, when it was known as Curry Paint and Tile, it specialized in paint and wallpaper, but has evolved over the years.
Wallace Curry got the business off the ground in 1924 before his son, Jerry, joined others in the community to buy the business when his dad retired. Years later, Ben’s dad — Terry — bought out his father’s interest in the business and eventually bought out the other owners, remaining as the business owner until he was ready to retire in 2015.
Ben said he hasn’t originally planned on continuing the family’s interest in the business.
“I was kind of the grunt here and started at the very bottom when I was still in high school,” he said. “I had planned on being a police officer and went through the criminal justice program at Western Iowa Tech (Community College) and joined the National Guard in 2005 as part of their security force, which was going to benefit my career as a police officer.”
Curry was part of the National Guard force that served six years in Iraq, and when he returned home he went to work for his family.
“When I came home I started working here, and in 2015 my parents decided they were ready to retire so I took over from there,” he said.
Curry’s has been at its present location for about 60 years, moving into what was an old Ford dealership when Ben’s grandfather bought the building.
The business has evolved, moving away from paint and wallpaper to providing expert sales and service in all kinds of flooring, from carpet to polished concrete. The 20-member team also does custom walk-in showers and a variety of other home projects.
Curry said the South Sioux City community has always been supportive of the family business, and he and his team have had an opportunity to see businesses and homes come to life with the services they provide.
“We’ve had a lot of support from businesses who have used us for their flooring projects,” he said. “It’s a great community full of small family-owned businesses that excel at what they do.”
“It’s also amazing when you look at the homes that are being built here and all the builders who are helping to grow the housing market,” he added. “And it doesn’t just benefit them, it benefits the electricians and plumbers and flooring people in the area, and it helps grow the community.”
For a company that started before Charles Lindbergh made the first cross-ocean flight from America to Paris, it has seen a lot in its first century of existence.
