Old School Type
By Joshua Colon
In the Van Nest section of the Bronx, there is a shop with memories of what many might say is technology from the past.
Owned by Sam Vazquez, E.S. Business Machines is a small shop packed with stationary supplies and parts for typewriters and cash registers which he repairs.
Vazquez has been fixing typewriters and other equipment such as cash registers for more than 50 years. “I love doing this, even though I don’t make a lot of money,” Vazquez said. He added that fixing typewriters and cash registers, along with any other machines that locals bring in, is relaxing to him.
Vazquez was born in Puerto Rico in a town called Peñuelas. With the help of his older brother, Vazquez and his mother moved to New York in 1955 to the St. Ann’s section of the Bronx when Vazquez was 17 years old. “My brother Pedro wanted the family to be together,” he said. Vazquez explained that his brother came to New York first and once he had somewhat settled down, he wanted to bring them from Puerto Rico. “I didn’t know too much English but I learned by reading the Daily News. It was tough,” said Vazquez.
Before he began repairing typewriters as a profession, Vazquez went to trade school in the city to learn how to repair them. “I only spent about nine months in Manhattan Trade School in Rivingston Street before I was hired” he said. Vazquez feels was destined to fix typewriters. “Somebody was looking for a repairman and I got the job. I’ve been repairing typewriters ever since,” he added smiling.
Before opening his shop in Van Nest, Vazquez spent around 30 years repairing typewriters in lower Manhattan. “I worked in a repair shop down by South Ferry where the World Trade Center’s used to be. Then the opportunity of opening my own repair shop came up and I took it,” he said. He has been at his current location for a little over two decades.
According to Vazquez, business is not what it once was. “Computers and new technology have affected my business over the years. People don’t use typewriters as much, if at all,” he said. He jokingly added that many young people do not even know what a typewriter is or what they look like.
On a good business day, according to Vazquez, he might see 10 people walk into his shop. They either make copies, use the fax machines, bring in machines for small repairs, or simply buy stationery supplies like pencils or pens. When asked if he would ever consider selling his shop due to the lack of business, Vazquez replied, “Nobody is going to buy this place. I plan on staying here and repairing my machines until I can’t walk anymore.”