Our Story

In 1948, Joseph Pastuszek Sr., son of “Hog Island Mike” Pastuszek, opened Joe’s Building and Plumbing Supplies on the corner of a full city block he purchased at 6th and Engle Streets in Chester, PA. Michael Pastuszek (pictured in bottom right of above photo) got his nickname by buying surplus from the Hog Island Shipyard at the end of WWI. Entrepreneurship is in the Pastuszek genes.

In 1954, Joe Sr. lost his wife, Jennie, at the age of 34, leaving him with 7 children. Shortly thereafter, he remarried to Mary Beno, a widow with one child….and the Pastuszek family was now a family of 10. Mary Pastuszek raised the children and was the general bookkeeper until her recent retirement at the young age of 93.

Joe Sr. worked tirelessly to build his business and take care of his family.

In the late 1950’s. Joe Sr.’s two sons, Joseph Jr. and Robert Pastuszek, joined him to help grow the business. Joe, Jr. ran the hardware and plumbing department and Bob ran the lumber, door and window side of the yard.

Joe’s has changed a lot over the years. As the business grew, covered buildings were added to accommodate the growing inventory. The city block which houses Joe’s Building Supplies was needed.

And, the yard kept growing…..

And, growing…..

We need a new aerial shot because today, almost the entire city block has been built up with covered buildings to protect the inventory.

As the lumber yard grew, so did the family. Joseph Pastuszek, III had arrived and he began learning to help in the business at an early age.

In 1996, Joe Sr. passed away and his two sons purchased the business from his estate. At that time, Joe III, who had finished school to become a plumber and worked in the field for a number of years, joined the team at Joe’s full-time.

Today, we work to serve the entire Tri-State area of PA, DE and NJ and pride ourselves in the quality of our products and the industry knowledge we have that sets us apart from big-box retailers. We are family, we are experts and we support our community.