Johnston’s own 23-year-old Vinny Pezzullo has jumped into business with a grand opening celebration unlike many others for his company, My Cousin Vinny’s Rentals.
Held last Sunday Pezzullo held a free cookout open to the community to showcase his collection of giant bounce houses, wet and dry slides, and his company’s ability to provide whatever’s needed for a party. But Pezzullo’s bounce into business began while he was still in school.
“I started doing this when I was 14, when I bought one of them, a bounce house. I put it on Craigslist as a rental,” said Pezzullo, who got the idea from his father’s 50th birthday party, where a bounce house was rented for the occasion. “My father and I would throw it in the back of the truck, go and do the rental and then pick it back up. One turned to two, two turned to three, three turned into 40, and nine years later here I am.”
Pezzullo’s business, located at 1465 Atwood Ave., was for years known as a pet store. He moved into the building last spring, and had to do a complete remodel. His venture has taken him to conventions and seminars on how to operate an inflatable party business, from tents to tables and hot dog makers to costumes.
He’s the official rental company for Cat Country 98.1, he’s provided parties for non profits and businesses alike. He’s planning on hiring a staff, as one recent weekend he had 27 requests for rentals. Pezzullo’s even supplied bounce house parties to Thornton, his old elementary school.
“For one person, who just started out with one bounce house, it just took off,” he said. “I’m going to shoot high and see what happens.”
Having used his parents’ home and yard to store his equipment, he’s happy to have an official place to store and display his equipment. His parent’s are relieved, too.
“They wanted to kill me. We had costumes in the house, I started renting storage units and dropping them in the yard to store bounce houses,” said Pezzullo.
While his business has grown, so has his equipment. One of his inflatable slides is 27 feet tall, and his inflatable movie screens are about 14 feet wide. He’s also optimistic that his business will reach new heights.
“It was a lot of work, but you know what? Nothing comes easy,” he said.
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