The Orthodox Jewish Founders Behind Century 21 NYC

For generations of New Yorkers, Century 21 NYC has been synonymous with the city itself. It is a downtown Manhattan institution where shoppers line up to score designer labels at unbeatable prices. But many who walked through its famous doors never knew that behind the iconic retailer were two observant Syrian Jewish families whose Torah values and commitment to Jewish observance helped shape the business from the very beginning.

The story began in 1961, when childhood friends Al Gindi and Sonny Gindi — members of Brooklyn’s Syrian Jewish community — came together to open a small discount clothing store in Lower Manhattan. The inspiration for the name came during a visit to the World’s Fair, where they came across an exhibit showcasing “The 21st Century.”

“They looked at each other and they said, ‘That’s what we’re going to name our store — Century 21,’” recalled Eddie Gindi, son of founder Sonny Gindi and one of the company’s current co-owners.

Their first store opened on Cortlandt Street in the Financial District, a very different neighborhood than the bustling destination it would eventually become. “At the time it was a radio repair neighborhood, all these radio repair shops. There was no residential community and no World Trade Center. It was just Wall Street,” Eddie recalled.

Looking back, he still marvels at his father and uncle’s vision. “They had the foresight to see that this area would become — I don’t know how — but they had, well, from Hashem, I guess, the foresight to open there,” he said.

Long before Century 21 became a household name, the Gindi family’s story was one of sacrifice and perseverance. Eddie’s great-grandfather immigrated from Aleppo, Syria, in the early 1900s to escape persecution and build a new life in America. The family arrived with very little and eventually settled among the growing Syrian Jewish community in Brooklyn.

Eddie’s father, Sonny, left school after sixth grade to help support his family after his father passed away. As a young man, he worked in his uncle’s beachside stores in Virginia and Maryland, selling bubble gum during the day and sleeping in the rafters above rolled-up rugs at night.

“He came from nothing,” Eddie said. “Worked his butt off. No education. Didn’t graduate elementary school. And he became one of the wealthiest, most philanthropic founders of the Syrian community.”

Yet according to Eddie, the family’s greatest success was never measured solely by what they built, but by how they built it. “It was always about treating your fellow man like you would want to be treated yourself — treating everybody with respect, with honesty and integrity,” he said.

Those values carried into the day-to-day operations of Century 21 NYC. “In business, you have to always be honest. Never cheat anybody. Treat everybody that works for you, every employee, with respect. Treat your customers with respect. Always love your partners,” Eddie said, recalling the lessons his father and uncle repeatedly emphasized.

The Gindi family’s commitment to Torah values extended beyond the store itself. Sonny Gindi became president of Magen David Yeshiva, helped bring UJA into the Syrian Jewish community, and instilled in his family the importance of tzedakah and maaser (donating a portion of one’s income to charity).

Even after the next generation took over the business, those conversations remained the same. “How are we going to give? Who are we going to give to? How can we give more?” Eddie recalled the family asking each year.

More than six decades after a small store opened on Cortlandt Street, Century 21 remains a quintessential New York success story, one that proves the greatest legacy the Gindi family built was not only a store, but the Torah values behind it. And that’s sure to last well beyond this century.

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