It all began in April 1972 when our founders Michael and Sunny Halperin started Jersey Party Rental by taking over the rental business from Oprandy’s liquor store in Englewood, NJ. Operating out of the 6-car garage behind the liquor store, they started with only 50 tables, 100 chairs, one style of china, a few racks of glassware, and one delivery van. They quickly transformed the business and moved to a 10,000 square foot facility in just over a year.
By 1976, they started providing tenting services, followed by table linens in 1979. In 1980, they exited the tenting business and expanded into New York City after meeting Donald Bruce White, who many give credit for starting the NYC catering industry in the 1970s. Michael recalled, “I got lucky – I went into the city with my suitcase of products to meet with Donald, and he told me he already had vendors he worked with. I opened the suitcase, he saw what was inside, and he said – ‘Where have you been?’”
It was then that the Party Rental Ltd. as we know it today began and our beloved pink hippo was born. Throughout the 1980s, Sunny ran the operations of the business while Michael made his way around New York City wowing people with his famous suitcase.
Today, our corporate headquarters are located in a 300,000 square foot warehouse in Teterboro, NJ where we house over three million rental items and a large fleet of iconic pink hippo trucks. We also call several other places home—Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., Boston, the Hamptons, and their surrounding areas.
As a family-owned company with a focus on people first and core values that include community, integrity, respect, opportunity, and health & safety, Party Rental Ltd. has created a loyal work environment with employees who have been with the company for 20, 30, even 40 years. “Sunny and Michael wanted a team of great people and we pride ourselves on our positive work environment,” Alan Gottlich, our Executive Vice President shared with us.
What’s kept us afloat these past 50 years? Besides the ability to match the pace and demand of the industry, our long-standing relationships with our customers and vendor partners ensure a seamless execution of events of all kinds. From planning the layout and design of event spaces to working with catering chefs on the proper plating selections, we have a storied history of bringing events to life.
With a focus on simplifying the ordering and delivery process, technology has been another key focus in recent years. After introducing GPS tracking, product barcodes, and the only true self-service ordering website in 2018, our goal is to continue to drive innovation in the industry.
What’s in store for the next 50 years? We’ll continue to work together with our customers and vendor partners to provide nothing but the best in terms of quality, innovation, and service – which is why there are hundreds of our iconic hippo trucks on the road every day.
