Park Slope’s U.Santini Moving marks 95 years of service

A family-run moving company in Park Slope is celebrating 95 years in business, marking nearly a century of helping New Yorkers relocate with care and efficiency.

U.Santini Moving and Storage was founded in 1930 by Italian immigrant Peter Menchini. With his wife, Inez, he initially operated a small horse-and-buggy business delivering ice around Brooklyn. The couple eventually transitioned into moving services, and the company expanded significantly in the 1950s under the leadership of their sons, Al and Gino.

Almost 100 years later, the company has become a trusted name in the moving industry, facilitating nationwide and international relocations. The Menchini family has maintained deep roots in Park Slope since Peter purchased their permanent base at 239 15th St. in 1938. Now in its third generation of family ownership, U.Santini continues to uphold the values on which it was founded.

“I’m providing a service, but it’s more than that,” said Dan Menchini, who has overseen the company since 1994. “It’s helping people transition from one space to another, both physically and emotionally.”

Over the decades, that customer-first approach has helped U.Santini navigate shifting real estate markets and evolving customer needs. While moving services have changed dramatically since the company’s early days, U.Santini now offers digital inventories, reusable storage bins, virtual surveys, and neoprene runners to protect floors during moves.

“At the end of the day, it’s still a manual labor job. It’s a tough business, but what makes it easier is having great help — people who are really vested in it,” Dan said. He emphasized the crucial role of employees, noting that movers often serve as more than just transporters of belongings.

“They come in, and they’re almost like a therapist,” Dan said of his workers. “They’re putting the customer at ease and ensuring everything goes well. Most of the time, we deal with people moving into a new home. It’s exciting times. But we’re also dealing with estates when people pass away, but divorce can always be a bit of a challenge. All of a sudden, you have both parties there, which can be a little tricky.”

On March 6, the Menchini family marked 95 years in business, reaffirming their commitment to Peter Menchini’s original ethos of prioritizing customers. “The recipe has worked,” Dan said.

Having worked on moving trucks throughout his childhood and college years, Dan always saw himself joining the family business. Now, with three young children of his own, he sees the next generation following in his footsteps.

“My daughter, Sophia, commutes with me every morning. We come here at 7:30 to open up, get the dispatch out, and then I bring her to school,” he said. “After school, she comes back. I really feel she has the most interest in the business.”

A fourth generation is already active in the company, as Dan’s nephew, David, recently took on the role of Director of Business Development. Like his uncle, he cut his teeth working on the trucks during high school and college.

“I love how my uncle runs the company, and I think if more companies were run like this, the world would be a better place,” David said. “I have a lot of faith in what we do here, so I really enjoy that.”