Photos: Carter Fish
Folks have been shopping at Charles Department Store for the past 100 years… and now Kelly Raneri is the fourth generation proprietor of this legendary Katonah store!
Katonah Avenue itself is a bit of a throwback to the idea of an idyllic time and a picture-perfect town… the kind of place that existed long before big-box stores or even two-lane roads. Part of what’s kept the character of Katonah constant is the dominant historic craftsman architecture, wide sidewalks, and of course… locally-owned and family-run businesses. Situated right in the heart of town is the teal blue three-story building that’s been home to Charles Department Store since 1939.
The front windows are filled with an aesthetically pleasing array that’s meticulous and yet not too commercial, evoking the desire for a casual lifestyle, to be outdoors, or cooking up a big hearty meal. Stepping through the front door of Charles Department Store, an old school bell jingles to let the team know that someone’s entered so they can provide a warm and friendly welcome. The charming space is filled with abundant supplies and gadgets, and fashionable and utilitarian wears. A relic of a simpler time, the store is complete with creaky wood floors and original tin ceilings. A large sepia tone photo on the back wall shows the building in 1897 before it was purchased by the family and after it was moved from old Katonah, giving the immediate context that the store has a history and story… The photo itself was a gift in 1980 from the world-famous photographer Slim Aarons, who lived in the area and shopped at the store.
A well known tradition in the area, Charles Department Store offers men’s and women’s clothing and footwear, and housewares with a focus on cooking and the kitchen and including also a selection of ‘Katonah’-labeled mugs, sweatshirts, hats, and other merchandise. “I handpick every single item I have in the store for quality and style,” Kelly explains. “I carry clothing and shoes for men and women aged 18-to-80, including brands such as Vuori, Patagonia, and Barbour, and would call our overall style ‘Katonah casual’.”
Quite notably, the experience of shopping at Charles Department Store is a treasured throwback to a past when shopping retail meant a warm and personal exchange with the proprietor - who was genuinely interested in showing the very thing required, and importantly, in building community one relationship at a time. The store itself - with decorations including lots of memorabilia, like a 100-year-old cash register - boasts all the character of four generations of haberdashers having worked in the same Katonah location.
“My great grandfather, Charles Raneri, came to the United States from Messina in Sicily, when he was only 14,” Kelly tells the family history. “He worked making gloves in Gloversville in Upstate New York until he was 18 and then moved to this area and started to make a living by putting a cart on the train to New York each day to go pick up goods…and then selling those goods at stations on the way home and back in town. He used to say ‘You can’t sell from an empty cart’, and I guess that informs our operation to this day. He started Charles Department Store in 1924 in Mt. Kisco, and when the Saw Mill River Parkway was built in 1939, he bought the building we occupy today, at 113 Katonah Avenue in Katonah, where we’ve been ever since!”
“I never met Charles, but from all accounts he was a pretty no-nonsense, all business guy, who was entirely devoted to establishing the business and making a way in America for his new family,” Kelly reveals. “But I did know my great grandmother, Isabelle, who grew up in Pleasantville along the train line - which is how she met Charles. She was a warm person with a very keen business sense…and was way ahead of her time.”
“My grandfather, Phillip, joined the business in the 1940s after he got back from serving in the Army in World War II. He bought the business in 1967, and ran Charles Department Store on the ground floor and had residences above. He expanded the product offering to change with the times, even adding a TV and radio sales and service department. My grandfather was always ready to try new things, and the business grew and expanded rapidly with him at the helm. His simple message was that ‘you’ll always do a nice business if you carefully curate your merchandise, keep the doors open, and always treat every customer the best you can’,” Kelly recounts. “My dad and uncle, Dave and Jim, started at the family business in the 1970s, and eventually became the owners in the 1990s.”
“I spent a lot of time working in the store whenever I wasn’t in school. I liked having cash to spend and feeling self-sufficient, and had enough to buy my first car when I left for college. I watched my dad and my uncle navigate challenges from the recession of the ‘70s to the devastation from Tropical Storm Floyd in 1999, when we lost all of the stock in our basement. Many of our loyal customers stopped by to help us clean up, while others helped just by continuing to support the local businesses.”
“I went to John Jay High School, and then graduated from Ithaca College in 2009 with a degree in Communications, Management, and Design. I came back to live and work here at Charles full-time, while my sister and cousins chose other career paths. When I first came on full-time it was challenging at times to build relationships with customers as they always wanted to deal with my dad or uncle. But after several years I was able to build a rapport and following with my regular customers that continues today. When Covid hit and my dad and uncle decided it was their time to retire, I purchased my uncle’s share of the building and the business. In 2021 my dad and I renovated the entire building, with Charles Department Store on the first floor, and with five apartments on the second and third floors.”
“I just kept going during Covid,” Kelly says proudly. “Heck, we Raneris have kept Charles Department Store going through the Great Depression, World War II, and a whole lot of changes since then. I did whatever I had to do to keep the shelves stocked, and provided curbside service to those who were uncomfortable coming in…because it’s like my great grandfather said, ‘you can’t sell from an empty cart’! And now, as the generations before have taught me, I run Charles Department Store carefully curating the merchandise…and keeping the doors open Monday through Saturday from 10 to 5, and Sundays in November and December from 11 to 4.”
“I’ve had the unique experience of having a grandmother, daughter, and grown granddaughter come into the store together to shop, where the grandmother knew my grandparents and great grandparents, the daughter was actually friends with my mom, and I went to high school with the granddaughter,” Kelly delights. “I’m familiar with most of my customers, and will learn and remember your name and what you are looking for the first time you come into the store! Unlike online, customers can try-on clothes and touch and feel the merchandise…and as a few of my customers have expressed, ‘You can’t get Kelly on Amazon!’”
Kelly expressed excitement at the celebration of the store’s centennial this year, saying, “We get to celebrate what we love most: our customers, our brands, and our hamlet.” And then added, “Shop locally with us for the holiday season! The holidays are our favorite time of year. We will help you select the perfect items and happily gift wrap them.”
As featured in the November/December 2024 issue of Bedford & New Canaan Magazine