1927 – Morris & Libby Heiferman opened a paint store on East 79th Street in Chicago. Heiferman’s Paint served the South Shore while featuring quality Benjamin Moore products. Their reputation as fair and knowledgeable people to do business with grew within the community.
1930’s and 1940’s – In the midst of The Great Depression, they found that painters and residents throughout the neighborhood had the need to rent basic tools and painting equipment instead of buying them. The idea of renting such items was unheard of at the time. The rental inventory included ladders, wallpaper steamers and other do-it-yourself tools. Window shades and glass sales were added to the mix as well.
1950’s – Son Bert Heiferman assumes primary management of the store. He added to the inventory, the few dozen folding chairs he had purchased for his 1954 wedding ceremony. AAA was now in the event equipment rental business. He was (and still is) quite an innovator… The American Rental Association was nearly a decade away from forming.
1960’s and 1970’s – The store was selling paint and wallcoverings while serving rental needs of both the south side and downtown. The inventory of tools and party items was growing. Notable rental customers back then included The City of Chicago, The Playboy Mansion and even The Rolling Stones.
1978- The store moved to Southern Suburbs. Many of the customers had moved in that direction. Here was an opportunity to service the city while introducing party rentals to the new community.
1980’s – The opportunity to sell the paint side of the business arose. The rental side expanded and moved to a spacious warehouse at our current site in Markham. The next generation, Gary and Jay, assumed management of the business.
1990’s – Our customer base and our inventory grew. The company became one of the most complete event equipment suppliers in the midwest. We outgrew our building and rented offsite storage facilities.
TODAY – We serve the entire Chicagoland area as well as national clients from our newly expanded, modern facility. Our experienced AAA team members service customers that need a 10 extra chairs for a birthday party and Customers that need 20,000 chairs for a concert series. Let us help you make your next event a terrific success.