A Moment in Time
The Family with Greg on his 40th
KERNS has been part of the Burlingame community for decades, but for the Mendell family, its story became personal in 1972. That year, Greg and Sue Mendell, together with Sue’s parents, Alvin and Marjorie Glass, purchased the store from the Kern family and decided to keep the familiar name. The next generation eventually found its way into the family business. Eric returned to the Bay Area and joined Kerns in 1997, followed by David in 2005. Today, the brothers carry forward a business shaped by their grandparents and parents. It’s not just the business they carry forward, but also the legacy behind it. A legacy built on what it truly means to be a family: fond memories that, if you’re lucky enough, are passed down as tangible keepsakes. Passed down through generations, two watches offer a deeply personal connection to the family’s history. Today, Eric and David each wear a Rolex with a history that began long before it reached their wrist. Passed from grandfather to grandson and father to son, the watches have become treasured family heirlooms, each carrying a story of its own.
trip and returned with watches for both brothers. Years later, when David graduated from high school, Greg decided it was time to pass his on. “What’s more special than something that signifies family ties and connection? So, I gifted the watch to him," Greg says. David wore it every day for years, rarely taking it off. "It helped me carry a piece of home with me while I was away at school,” says David.
A GENERATIONAL GIFT Eric’s watch belonged to his grandfather, Alvin “Papa”
Eric with Sue, Alvin, and Marj
Greg, Alvin, Eric, and David
Glass. Alvin purchased the yellow gold Rolex in the early 1980s to commemorate 10 years since purchasing the store from
Greg and Sue's Wedding Day with Alvin and Marj
the Kern family. Eric remembers seeing it on his grandfather’s wrist every day and being told that one day it would be his. After Alvin passed away, the watch was left to
DAVID’S ROLEX Rolex Air-King, Ref. 5500 Stainless steel with a silver index dial, acrylic crystal, and Oyster bracelet.
Eric. But there was one detail he hadn’t known:
A FAMILY HEIRLOOM
his grandfather had already engraved the caseback with his own initials and, beneath them, Eric’s. “It still makes me emotional thinking of the love and memories we shared,” Eric says.
The watch first belonged to David’s father, Greg. Though its story begins a generation earlier. Around 1960, Greg’s brother traveled to Europe with money their father had given him for the
ERIC’S ROLEX Rolex Date, Ref. 15037 18K yellow gold with a silver index dial, fluted bezel, and Jubilee bracelet.
Eric and David in High School
Eric and David with Alvin
Greg, Sue, Eric, and David in NYC
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