Jeff Bezos once said, “Life is too short to hang out with people who aren’t resourceful.” As it celebrates 80 years in business, one can bet that the Oakland, California-based Rubenstein Supply team members are forever thankful that three brothers had the intuition to be resourceful during The Great Depression.
In 1943 Henry Rubenstein, Morris Rubenstein and Bob Rubenstein, began salvaging plumbing fixtures from their father’s building demolition business. The three brothers went on to build and operate a plumbing distribution company for forty years together. Still family run today, Bob Rubenstein’s son Craig Rubenstein has owned and operated the business since 1986. The original building is still located at 28th and San Pablo Avenue in Oakland, but the company has grown to boast four wholesale locations in the Bay Area along with a new retail showroom with one of the largest TOTO displays in California.