Millbrae Lumber Company to close

Last year, the Millbrae Lumber Company, established in 1939, was named the business of the year by the city's Chamber of Commerce and Rotary Club.

This year, however, is a different story as the family-owned business prepares to shut its doors in just a few weeks.

The history of the company is long and its current owners, the Thurston and Massolo families, bought the lumber yard back in the early 1980s.

Most of the company's 10 employees have been with Millbrae Lumber for more than 25 years and its youngest employee, 28, started with the company 10 years ago right out of high school. The company's oldest employee is 75.

The yard is closing because of the poor economy, David Massolo said. Construction on the Peninsula has slowed considerably, he said.

Massolo practically grew up on the property located on El Camino Real near Millbrae Avenue and knows the history of the company going back to when it supplied all the wood for the Millbrae Highlands development, long before his own family invested in the company.

The spot where the lumber yard sits now, about 1.5 acres, used to be a family farm, Massolo said.

Despite having several owners over time, the lumber yard has always been a family-run business, he said.

The lumber yard has also supported Little League teams in Millbrae since their inception, said Lucille Thurston.

The land has been sold but Massolo is not sure what the new owners have in mind for the property.

It is in Millbrae's Site 1 project area, slated for redevelopment as it sits just west of the BART and Caltrain station.

The city hopes to one day see a mix of housing and retail on the spot, said Millbrae Councilwoman Gina Papan.

"I'm not sure what the new owner has in mind for the property but hopefully it won't sit vacant for too long,” she said.

Millbrae Lumber Yard has been part of the fabric of the community, Papan said.

It had a steady stream of loyal customers over the decades as its patrons today were brought in by their fathers and grandfathers before who worked in the trades, Massolo said.

The lumber yard sells everything needed to build a house and was not hurt by big-box stores such as Home Depot, he said.

"They actually made us look good,” Massolo said about his larger competitors.

Business started to decline in 2006 and closing the yard will be sad, he said.

"We've been together more as workers than we've spent with our families. We have become a family,” he said.

The company plans a huge liquidation sale the first two weeks of October with prices reduced up to 50 percent.

For more information visit www.millbraelumber.com.

Bill Silverfarb can be reached by email: silverfarb@smdailyjournal.com or by phone: (650) 344-5200 ext. 106.