N. & B. Sosensky’s Hardware

246 Dixwell Avenue (former)

Exterior of N. & B. Sosensky’s, 1940s. Courtesy Sosensky Family.

In 1911, Bernard Sosensky, an immigrant from Russia in the early 1900s, and his son Nathan opened a grocery store on the site that was to become Sosensky’s Hardware Store in 1919. They saw the need for supplying local builders who needed high volumes of materials and large tools. Yale University and the New Haven State Normal School (now Southern Connecticut State University) were major customers, as were many local builders and contractors.

As business increased, the store grew. The next generation of the family, Morton and Eunice Sosensky, took over the business when Nathan retired. They continued to serve Yale, Southern and local contractors with building supplies. They also provided building supplies for set designers and builders from the Yale School of Drama who continued to rely on the store for set materials even after they moved to other communities. The business was sold in 1990.

Text source courtesy Sosensky Family.