Brown family plans to re-open popular store
By Ken Powers Community Reporter

Northborough - When Paula Yankee was growing up in town, she spent many afternoons and evenings sitting in the basement of her 43 Northgate Road home with her brothers, watching one of the six televisions that seemed to be on around the clock.

"It was like we all had our own TV," Yankee said. "My father was always fixing televisions for people in town and we were there to make sure they worked properly before he called the owner and told them that their TV was fixed and they could come pick it up."

The television repair business was a successful one for Yankee's father, Frank Brown Jr., and he moved the business first to the center of town, above Sawyer's Bowladrome, and then, about 30 years ago, to the Northborough Shopping Center, 243 West Main St.

The store - Brown's TV & Appliance - thrived at the West Main Street location, which is where it was until it burned to the ground March 25, the victim of a fivealarm blaze that also claimed O'Brien's Five and Ten, the Northborough Desi Supermarket, Garabedian Jewelers and Queen Bead and Gifts.

Brown's was truly a family business - Frank's wife, Rhea, worked there, as did daughter Paula and sons Frank Brown III and David Brown. Ken Yankee, Paula's son, grew up in the store and started working for his grandfather when he was still very young.

Frank Jr., now 80, retired a few years ago, leaving the dayto day operation of the store to his sons. Paula Yankee said her father, even in retirement, went to the store every day.

"He's devastated, completely devastated," Yankee said. "He still goes there every day. At first he just went and stood there and stared. After a few days they finally let him go in, but there's nothing there. We lost everything."

Among the losses of plasma televisions, high definition units, DVD players and appliances, such as refrigerators and stoves, was an antique radio collection Frank Jr. had. More than 50 reconditioned radios from yesteryear were located throughout the store.

"When I think of stuff like that, that's what makes me really sad," Yankee said. "We were insured, and I'm sure that will cover a lot of the loss. But other stuff that was in the store - the radio collection and other personal memories, those we'll never be able to replace."

Yankee said the family is hoping to re-open the business at another location in town.

"It's been such a big part of our life for our whole life," Yankee said. "We all, really, grew up in the business."

Yankee recalled being the first business in the area to have a video club.

"I remember how it started: a salesman came in one day

" in the 1980s and talked to my father and told him there was going to come a day, very soon, that people were going to sit at home and watch movies," Yankee said. "He showed us the videos and asked us what we thought and we told him we thought this was the worst idea ever."

Frank Jr. opted not to listen to his children and invested in the idea. For just $1, club members could rent a video for a week.

"It was the craziest thing," Yankee said. "People would come to the store on the day each week the UPS truck was supposed to bring new movies and wait in the parking lot for it to arrive so they could have first shot at the new releases."