Patricia Berning’s father started his jewelry business in 1965, across the street from Arizona State University. Since moving the store to south Tempe two decades ago, the business is thriving, this month turning the corner to its 45th anniversary.
To help celebrate, Berning and her son, co-owner Zach Berning, have invited the community to join them for a weekend of classy fun the first weekend of November.
“Our actual ‘birth’ date is Oct. 15, but we’re still working out the details with what we are going to do,” Zach said.
“We want to give (our customers) an opportunity to revisit their initial contact with us, which could have been in 1965.”
Celebratory events will take place Nov. 4, 5 and 6, with an outdoor cookout and small-scale community gathering, accompanied by wine tasting. Photos will also take residents through the store’s history.
“It’s really nice to have families come in and say hi,” Patricia said. “Tempe is a very nice, tight community; we like to bring that feeling to our business.”
Patricia’s family has a history in the jewelry business dating back to the years after World War II, she said.
“My dad was a diamond cutter by trade, and he opened this retail business with Paul Johnson,” she said. Johnson ended up becoming one of Phoenix’s most notable citizens, including a term as mayor in the mid-1980s. Patricia’s father’s life took a different turn.
“Manufacturing is much different then retailing, so he had to quickly learn a different side of the industry, as well as gemology.”
Patricia found her passion while working for her father, and when he decided it was time to retire, she took on the adventure. She was the third family member to work in the business, after her brother left to attend college at the University of Arizona.
“I basically learned everything from cleaning up after my dad,” Patricia Berning said. “He had a horrible habit of leaving things out, so I would have to go through all these gems and put them away.”
Son Zach began working in the store when he was 18 and still studying business in college.
“I went to ASU, and with a degree in business, I had this idea of getting a Fortune 500 job,” he said. “What I started to realize was that the experiences I enjoyed most were being here in the store and working with customers.”
Patricia, along with Zach, moved their store to south Tempe, where they are currently located on the southwest corner of McClintock Drive and Warner Road, in July 1990.
When the business started, many ASU students were getting engaged, Patricia Berning said. Years later, people weren’t getting married that early, so the store changed locations to in order to reach a new, growing market in south Tempe.
“The change was huge; I was floored with the difference,” Patricia said. “We were losing one market and gaining another from the south Tempe community – it was no longer just connected to ASU.”
Patricia said she became more involved with the Chamber of Commerce, going through Tempe’s leadership program to make new connections and discover south Tempe’s neighborhoods.
“People in our community like that personal feeling,” she said. “If your name is on the door, you should be there. We have been in Tempe for 45 years, and I owe that to making my customers happy.”
Even with the change in location, third-generation customers still return with stories about their grandparents buying from Patricia’s father.
“A lot of people love to come in and tell me how my dad showed them an item under the gem scope when they were buying their engagement ring,” she said. “It’s also really nice when Zach’s working with the third generation, and their grandparents bought from my dad.”
