Eastwood a success because of Cafaros
DEAR EDITOR:
Congratulations to the Cafaro Family for the 50th anniversary of the Eastwood Mall.
I have truly fond memories of the mall as well as the work that went into its success. I recall when I was 11 years old, back in 1967, my grandfather (Niles Mayor Carmen DeChristofaro) would tell us of this new shopping center concept coming to Niles where the sidewalks in front of the stores would be indoors and as wide as streets, with huge water fountains lining these pedestrian streets.
When the mall opened in 1969, it was even more grandiose than he described. Little did I know at that time that 20 years later in 1986 I would be working for the Cafaro Company in project development.
In my nearly 25 years with the company, I worked on the development of over 2 million square feet of the 3.3 million square feet at Eastwood Mall, as well as millions more in 13 states across the country.
What they preached in my years of working with founder William Cafaro, his sons Anthony Cafaro Sr. and J.J. Cafaro, and grandsons William and Anthony Jr. is that in order to achieve success it is not enough to work smarter than the competition. You must also work harder than the competition. This creed was the culture of the organization to where the employees expected the same from themselves. Maintaining this culture within the organization for over half a century has allowed the Cafaro Company to flourish.
I have worked with many great company employees in my nearly 25 years at the Cafaro Company who played a role in their success, but without a doubt, the key to their success is the cultural foundation for success established by William Cafaro, nurtured by Tony and J.J., and now carried on by William and Anthony Jr.
And with over a half-dozen fourth generation Cafaros, the best may still be yet to come.
Congratulations and continued success to them!
DAVID DeCHRISTOFARO
Niles
Retired V.P. Engineering and Development