Is it important that General Glass is a proud, fourth generation, family-owned business? We think so. After all, a family reputation that has been a hundred years in the making is riding on our performance every day. And while we like to think we would conduct business with the utmost integrity under any circumstances, it certainly doesn’t hurt that the entire Balik clan is watching over our shoulders to make sure we’re representing the family with honor.

At this writing, two generations of Baliks – five Baliks in all – are actively involved in the business.

Our story begins in 1900, a time when pushcarts dotted Manhattan’s Lower East Side. Max Balik, who had grown up in the glass business in Austria, arrived in New York with the skills and work ethic of an old-world artisan. He quickly put these assets to work repairing glass in the local tenements. When Max replaced that first broken pane, and jammed those first few cents into his pocket, he began a business that would stretch far beyond his days and his imagination.