BY JENNIFER DOME
Staff Writer
MIKE JONES David Servetah, 25, recently opened Caskets & More on Cedar Bridge Avenue in Brick. BRICK — When David Servetah graduated from Stockton State College in 2002, he had one dream — to work on Wall Street.
But at that time, jobs were scarce. And so, Servetah continued to work at the pizzeria in Jackson where he tossed dough in high school. From there, it took a few trials and errors before he found something that he could be passionate about — selling caskets.
At 25 years old, Servetah owns his own business, one that he says is “exciting.” Without trepidation he admits that “this is all in my hands.”
Caskets & More, located at 909 Cedar Bridge Ave., was the result of a little parental guidance. One day, his father was looking through a small business magazine and noticed an article about the Caskets & More business based in Wichita, Kan.
Servetah said he decided to check it out — and the company checked him out as well. He said they wanted lots of information about him and the area he was proposing to do business in. Since this area is densely populated with a large senior population, the parent company was in agreement, and “they qualified us to open up a store.”
They granted him a licensing agreement, which is different from a franchise, Servetah said. The company has several locations from coast to coast.
“Everything just seemed to fit right,” he said.
Then he set about finding a home for his business. It took a long time for him to find a location because many people thought the idea of a casket store was “tasteless,” Servetah said.
In November he settled into the Leoniak Plaza and, after a week of training in Kansas, he officially opened his business about one month ago.
“I can tell you anything you need to know about a casket,” he said.
Funeral homes provide a great service, he said. But he wants people to know that they have a choice.
Servetah explained that the Federal Trade Commission states that funeral homes cannot mark up the prices of other services they provide if a family brings in an outside casket. They can’t charge extra for handling the casket either, he said.
The average funeral costs about $10,000, Servetah said. And the casket is the most expensive thing when dealing with a funeral.
For example, the cheapest casket Servetah sells costs $699. A similarly made casket at a local competitor, which Servetah wouldn’t identify by name, costs $1,250, he said. This casket would be made of 20 gauge steel with a silver exterior and white crate interior.
He said that many people can’t afford the cost of the average funeral. So, he’s been trying to reach out to local nursing homes and other groups to let them know about this alternative option.
“Once people let me get my point across, they warm up to me,” he said.
Servetah said there aren’t many of these stores, although his particular business has made national news on programs such as ABC’s “20/20.”
“It’s just a matter of getting exposure,” Servetah said. “It’s just letting people know they have an option.”
It is possible for someone to reserve a casket ahead of time. He has a 40-year policy where the funeral home used at the time of death would have to provide a casket of equal value for what was purchased originally.
The cost of delivering the casket to the funeral home is free, Servetah said while seated at a table in his store, surrounded by 17 caskets on display. He has access to more than 300 different kinds of caskets, if there is time to order one. He can also help arrange for monuments, urns and flowers.
While it may be unusual for a 25-year-old man to be involved in this type of business, Servetah said he sees it as a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity — one supported by his family, who has owned their own small business in Howell, where he grew up.
He said he likes being able to provide this service to people at a cheaper rate.
“I’m just providing a choice,” he said.
The store is open from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. and Servetah said he will answer phone calls 24 hours a day. For more information, call (732) 477-4980.