Most modern-day appliances became commonplace in American homes in the mid-20th-century. Many middle-class homes featured washers, dryers and refrigerators by the 1950s, and dishwashers weren’t far behind.

Anyone who had the foresight to predict the upward trend in the popularity of home appliances was bound to find success.

By 1949, Eddie Moran had enough of selling tires. He was one of those astute businessmen who were able to see that the future was in household appliances. He and his wife, Barbara, opened Dracut Appliance Center that year at 1105 Lakeview Avenue, across the street from its current longtime location at 1112 Lakeview Avenue in Dracut.

Seventy-five years later, Eddie’s store still stands at the corner of Lakeview Avenue and Pleasant Street, one of the few independent appliance sellers still thriving.

Dracut Appliance Center is the Dracut Economic Development Business of the Month for February 2024.

 A third generation of Morans now runs Dracut Appliance, which has expanded to two storefronts (the second, at 2100 Main Street in Tewksbury, opened in 2000) and a warehouse around the corner from the Dracut location that opened in 2008.

 “My grandfather opened Dracut Appliance,” says Craig Moran, one of two brothers in charge of the company these days. “He used to display the appliances out on the sidewalk. He had a storage trailer on the lot, and Whirlpool or Maytag or whatever company would deliver, and he’d keep the appliances in the trailer and deliver them from there. He would work at the store from 9 to 6 and then would deliver sometimes in the evenings or in the mornings before he opened up. That’s how it started.

 “He was very good at what he did,” Craig adds. “He was hard-working.”

 Eddie’s son, Stephen, took the helm of the business in the mid-1970s when Eddie decided to retire. The store was then remodeled, the second store was opened, and Dracut Appliance became part of a national buying group for appliances.

 These days, with Stephen retired, his sons, Craig and Peter, run the business. Craig is in charge of sales and marketing, while Peter is in charge of the warehouse, service and deliveries. The oldest son, Stephen II, recently returned from Colorado to assist with the business. They run a company that employs about 30 people between the three facilities.

 According to Craig, Dracut Appliance saw “an insane amount of growth” when COVID-19 mandates forced people to stay home. The store outgrew its warehouse and had to rent another local property for overspill. The big-box stores were unable to handle the increased demand, but independents like Dracut Appliance were able to pick up the slack.

 “A lot of other places weren’t able to handle the service issues,” Craig says. “Our service department can take care of issues that come up. The Lowes and the Home Depots have to call the manufacturer, and they were booking 3-4 weeks out. But we can get right out to service an appliance.”

 A main reason Dracut Appliance can keep up with the demand for sales and delivery is that it belongs to New England Appliance Group (NEAG), a cooperative buying, warehousing, distribution and marketing organization founded in 1963 to help independent appliance retailers compete against big-box stores.

The elder Stephen Moran served as president of NEAG from 2000 to 2023, stepping down last year when he also retired from Dracut Appliance. His wife, Brenda, still keeps her hand in the business, working on payroll and other areas.

 According to a 2023 article in Your Source News, “the Voice of Independent Retail,” Steve’s tenure as president of NEAG, was “marked by the group’s incredible growth and the expansion of its reach and influence, with scores of new members joining NEAG over the past two decades and sales volume exploding from $121 million to an astonishing $600 million.”

 NEAG today boasts more than 130 independent retail stores across New England, which increases the buying power of all of its member retailers.

 Of course, a retail business can’t stay in business – and thrive – unless it places a high value on service.

 “We have a pretty loyal following,” Craig said. “My parents and grandparents did that, and we’re just trying to keep that going. There are a lot of really good, loyal people who know they can just pick up the phone and call us. That’s something we’re pretty proud of.

 “We have customers who have been buying their appliances here for 50 years. It’s funny, now we’re seeing customers whose grandparents were customers and they told their grandkids to go to Dracut Appliance. We’ve always said word of mouth is the best kind of advertisement.”

 All of the Morans – Stephen, Brenda and their three sons – still live in Dracut, and they take pride in the fact that their neighbors and friends can trust Dracut Appliance Center when they’re purchasing a new appliance.

 And if it seems like today’s appliances don’t last as long as the appliances of yesterday, Craig doesn’t disagree, but he’s quick to point out that people use their appliances more today than ever before.

 “The number-one thing we sell is probably laundry,” he says. “People kill their laundry. They work it to the bone. Washers and dryers used to last 20 years or more. Now after eight or nine years, they’re replacing them, and they say, ‘Our old one lasted 20 years,’ and we say, ‘Hey, we don’t make them, we just sell them.’”

 With a business that appears to be growing with no slowdown in sight, is it possible Dracut Appliance Center may look to expand even further? Craig doesn’t dismiss the idea, though he doesn’t want to grow so much that they forget the people who keep them in business.

 “A lot of places have grown so big that they lose track of the day-to-day stuff, and we don’t want that to happen,” he says. “We’ve been here 75 years. If you have a problem, you know where we are, and you know you’re going to get the best service you can ask for.”

 Dracut Appliance can be reached at 978-957-2300 or 978-658-7330, or visit www.dracutappliance.com.