Our founder, Paul Kelley,(1922-2009) had an entrepreneurial itch that finally got scratched in 1967 when he bought an A to Z Rental franchise and opened up his party/tool/equipment rental store in a suburb of Cleveland. He left his secure job selling electrical circuit breakers for ITE Circuit Breaker in Cleveland and set off into the world of self-employment. With the help of his wife and two sons, they manned the store 8am to 8pm every day, and 10-3 on Sunday. Just a short time into his new business venture, the A to Z franchiser went bankrupt and Paul decided to change the name to ABC Rental. He retired on his 62nd birthday in 1984 and enjoyed 25 years of retirement until his passing in 2009.
Over the years, ABC Rental has continued to grow and change with the constantly evolving equipment rental market. Pop-up campers, tandem bicycles, and exercise belt vibrators and massage rollers were just part of the early offerings here at ABC Rental Center. They’re all gone now along with the medical rentals that were part of the original package. We had to make room for the ever changing Cleveland party rental market. To this day we’re constantly evaluating our offerings as we try to stay current on the changing trends in the party rental in Cleveland.
We expanded into the space that was Washland Laundramat back in 1990, doubling the size of our showroom and warehouse. This gave us the chance to open up a second service counter for the party customers. That way, a lady planning her daughter’s wedding didn’t have to step around the floor sanders and the drain snakes.
Then in 1999 we bought the Century 21 Real Estate office on the south side of our building for additional parking and yard space.(One thing you need in this business is space.) We also joined the True Value Hardware co-op in the early 90’s to offer more items at a competitive price. In April of 2012, on the cusp of our party rental moving to new quarters, we demolished that building to give us more yard space for our Bobcats, Mini Excavators, and Stump Grinders.
Fast-forward, 2012. Thanks to our loyal customer following for the last 48 years and our steadfast crew, we have just finished remodeling a building for our new Cleveland party rental store. Party Safari opened in January 2013 in a 20,000 square ft. facility in North Randall. We have just the tool rental here now, and the party rental has moved to 21600 Miles Rd.