MONROEVILLE, Pa. — From outerwear to military tactical pants to boots, Ralph’s Army Surplus in Monroeville has been offering these specialty items for decades. Next month, the owner will close his doors for good.
Since 1955, Ralph’s Army Surplus has been a fixture along Route 22 in Monroeville. The current owner, Bruce Silverblatt purchased the business from the Bonn family in 2001.
“My friends’ family owned this business and Ralph was their grandfather and my friend passed away at the young age of 42 and one of my other friends kicked me in the butt and told me to go talk to his father because he was gonna sell the business,” Silverblatt said.
Silverblatt speaks fondly of his 23 years owning and operating Ralph’s Army Surplus.
“I’m going to miss the employees and the interaction with the customers,” he said.
The same goes for longtime employees like James Long.
“My mother and my grandmother worked here. It’s part of the family,” Long said.
He’s worked here since 2009.
“We would see like I said about 300 to 400 people a day and as the years went by the numbers just started dropping and then COVID really took a bat to us,” Long explained.
About a year ago, Silverblatt says he made the decision to close by the end of December. He’s slashed prices on a lot of items.
Silverblatt said, “Eventually, hopefully, there won’t be anything left in the store except for memories.”
Silverblatt says that anyone who still has a gift card needs to make sure that they use it by the end of December.
Download the FREE WPXI News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Channel 11 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch WPXI NOW
©2024 Cox Media Group
/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/cmg/XCUXZC2XYZHCRGNNGKFEX6U3LQ.png)
