CityView Magazine

Above | Greg Wright, left, learned the trade at his grandfather’s side. Now he is mentoring his son, Cory Wright, at Rite-Way Safe & Lock. still known for its employees’ positive attitudes, good customer service, quality materials and unique products. But some things never change. Like any family business, it’s a 24-7 obligation. Greene can testify to that. Several years ago, Greene was the one to get the call about a break-in at the family business. She immediately drove to the store to meet the police and found that a rock had been thrown through a window. Officers searched to no avail, and they left Greene with a rookie officer while she waited for a dispatcher to bring a piece of plywood to cover the hole in the window. With glass covering the floor, Greene decided to grab a broom from the janitor’s closet. But when she reached for the doorknob, it was locked. And that’s how she knew the burglar was hiding inside – the closet was never locked. She called out to the officer for help. “So he goes back there and he says, ‘Do you have a screwdriver?’ and I look 38|June/July • 2009 at him thinking, ‘We’re in a hardware store. Of course, I have a screwdriver.’ So, about the time he asked me for a screwdriver, we hear this voice from the inside of the closet go, ‘I’ll just come out.’” Greene laughs now, but back then, she grabbed a crowbar, ready for whatever would happen. “OK, if this guy darts out and has a gun or mows the little officer over, I’m ready.” Running your own business can be quite an adventure, to say the least, but despite broken windows, current economic struggles and inevitable changes to come, Highland plans to see them through.“We’ve been here 90 years,” Bissette said, “and we’re going to be here another 90.” Rite-Way Safe & Lock Standing on top of a Coca-Cola box, Greg Wright learned how to cut keys at the age of 7. With his grandfather by his side, learning the trade became more than a business; it was a special bond between grandfather and grandson. Rite-Way Safe and Lock Inc., became the company that tied four generations of the Wright family together. “There’s a lot of gratification knowing that it’s always a family-oriented business,” Wright said. “Of course, we had our family struggles, but what family doesn’t? It takes all of us. It took all of us as a family back then and still takes all of us today.” Perhaps you remember the downtown shop from the days when a 6-foot neon skeleton key once hung above the entrance, or maybe you’ve been one of its many customers since the shop opened in 1947. Founded by A.P. Wright, the business began as Master Repair Shop, specializing in locks, safes and keys, as well as repairing household items like toasters. Although security was not a significant issue at the time, and locksmiths were not in demand, the

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