Mountain Views News          Saturday, May 12, 2012

13

HOMES & PROPERTY

 Mountain Views News Saturday, May 12, 2012 

One Of A Kind: Featuring unique homes and gardens and the people who create them Story and Photos by Chris Bertrand. 


P.E. DEANS OPENS ITS DOORS

New Sierra Madre Retailer Combines Upscale Furniture Consignments, Accessories & Gifts

Sherry and Cesare (Chez) Grossi have become 
beloved pillars of the Sierra Madre business 
community in the last five years. “Can you believe 
it?” chuckled Sherry Grossi. “In November, Zugo’s 
Cafe (their restaurant originally named Ugo’s) will 
celebrate its fifth anniversary!”

The energetic couple, who began their popular 
Italian bistro in 2007, has branched out across the street from their 
restaurant with Sherry’s new venture, P.E. Deans. Named after her mother, 
the store celebrated its official ribbon cutting on May 4, two weeks after 
its soft opening on April 21.

Located in the space formerly occupied by Iris Intrigue, P.E. Deans 
features carefully selected, quality consignment furniture and accessories, 
interspersed with brand new gift items. As opposed to the Bay Area, 
which features a plethora of strong consignment furniture stores, the San 
Gabriel Valley seems to have been ripe for Grossi’s new business.

 “Things have been flying off the shelves,” said Grossi, very pleased and 
almost startled at the very brisk response to the new business. In this 
reporter’s several visits to the store, merchandise is definitely turning 
over daily, even hourly. Items on display just hours before the ribbon 
cutting on Friday were already gone by late afternoon.

Grossi says realistic pricing keeps the inventory moving quickly. After 
agreeing on a sales price with a buyer, Grossi pays her consignors 55%, 
a higher split than many other consignment retailers. She says items will 
have a wide range of value, from about $25 to $2500. 

With her critical eye toward value and quality, Grossi has already offered high end 
furniture items at aggressive prices, like eight Kreiss Collection dining chairs offered at 
$1920, a Biedermeier chest and an Italian game table, to a charming hand painted, two-
tiered table for $45. 

Grossi brings a wealth of retail and home goods experience to her new Sierra Madre 
store. Her career spanned both sides of “the pond” in Boston and Italy, with corporate, 
VP and Senior VP positions at major retailers including the home products division at 
Filene’s Department Store in Boston.

Known even more widely across the country is Filene’s Basement. According to 
Wikipedia, Filene’s Basement “was founded in Boston in 1909 by Edward A. Filene as 
a way to sell off excess merchandise from his father’s department store upstairs. Before 
long, other retailers and manufacturers were bringing their unsold goods to him to sell, 
and the concept of the “off price” store was born.”

A six year stint as a luxury lingerie manufacturer in Italy also gave both Grossis European 
business experience in Chez’s home country. After moving back to the states in 2001, 
they eventually tired of snow shovels and inclement weather, heading for LA… and the 
rest, they say is history.

For more information about evaluating potential consignment furniture, art or 
accessories, stop in the store on Tuesdays through Sundays.

P.E. Deans is located at 49 W. Sierra Madre Boulevard in Sierra Madre. Contact Sherry 
Grossi at 626-355-0400 or at Consignments@PEDeans.com. Their www.PEDeans.com 
website is still under construction, and will be live soon. In the meantime, you never know 
what “must have” sofa, oil painting, fine china or dining table will appear in the window 
at P.E. Deans! 


Above, Sherry Grossi, proprietor P.E. Deans in Sierra Madre. Below, Kreiss Collection dining chairs offered at 
an incredibly reasonable price.

 
Andy Bencosme, Managing Broker of 
CENTURY 21 Village in Sierra Madre 
recently welcomed Roy Blume and Irene 
Truong, partners and co-founders of 
the Blume-Truong Real Estate Group 
to CENTURY 21 Village Realty. “I am 
happy to have Roy and Irene join our office. 
Their hard work, professionalism 
and dedication to their clients is evident 
in everything they do,” Bencosme said.

Roy was formerly a corporate executive 
for a major retailer for nearly 30 years 
and transitioned to real estate a few years 
ago. He was involved in new store openings, store build-outs and the liquidation of assets 
along with many other duties. He gained valuable experience in retail real estate during 
his retail tenure and has used his contacts to build Blume-Truong’s commercial business. 
He has lived in the San Gabriel Valley since 1972 and knows the area well. Roy has been 
married for 28 years and has 2 daughters.

Irene has been in the HR industry and uses her mediation experience to make sure all 
parties of the deal are more than happy. She lives in the area and is excited about her new 
alliance with CENTURY 21 Village. Irene works tirelessly to make sure their clients find 
exactly what they are looking for and has built many long lasting relationships with her 
clients. Irene is also married and has 3 children.

Roy and Irene service all areas of Metro LA and the Inland Empire. Their business is built 
on referral and the “It’s what we do…” mantra. They travel to all areas and never say no to 
satisfy their client base. 

 The Blume-Truong Real Estate Group and all of the friendly CENTURY 21 Village agents can 
be contacted at 38 W. Sierra Madre Blvd in Sierra Madre or by telephone 626.355.1451 or on 
the internet at www.c21village.com

BLUME-TRUONG REAL ESTATE GROUP JOINS CENTURY 21 
VILLAGE REALTY