Counselor honors the top industry workplaces through an exclusive survey and rankings. Find out what makes City Paper Company a great place to work!

6. City Paper Company (asi/162267),
Birmingham, AL

From left to right: Paul Friedman Jr. (executive VP); Stephanie Friedman (VP of sales & marketing); Max Belski (CFO); Mark Friedman (COO); and Brad Friedman (CEO/president)

Through four generations, City Paper Company has treated its employees like family, whether they’re related by blood or elbow grease. They’ve broken bread together at company luncheons and happy hours, taught each other different aspects of the business and even helped pack up their vans to move to a new home. Despite the trials and tribulations of lost accounts and power outages, the southern distributor has weathered many changes in the industry due to its unwavering belief in people.

“Growth comes when you have happy employees who want to come to work and enjoy working together,” says Stephanie Friedman, vice president of sales & marketing at City Paper Company. “We work incredibly hard at listening to them, investing in their ideas and making them feel like they have a voice. We’ve made it a priority to give them what they’d like to see in the company they spend so much time with.”

In the past five years, Friedman says the company has instituted maternity- and paternity-leave policies, extended its vacation and PTO program and reassessed its health insurance package through ever-changing legislation. After 70 years in the same dilapidated office building, the company moved last August to a clean, modern and inviting space. Friedman says her 31 employees now feel confident bringing customers to their spacious showroom, making for a more conducive work environment.

But customers better beware entering the office during Friday Putt-Putt, when employees compete in a 100-yard putting contest in the hopes of winning a $100 gift card. “We have a work hard, play hard atmosphere,” Friedman says. “We have fun and don’t take ourselves too seriously. Our doors are always open and there’s a lot of camaraderie.”

The Family Business
Like sweet tea and college football, City Paper Company is an institution in Alabama. When the company opened its doors in 1897, the city of Birmingham had existed for just over 25 years with a population of 66,277 “souls” as listed in the 1897 directory.

New York native Jacob Friedman moved to Birmingham to open a men’s clothing store, which he later sold to buy City Paper Company from his brother-in-law Mannie Band in the 1920s. After Jacob’s passing in 1940, the company was “hopelessly in debt,” but his 18-year-old son Paul took the reins and continued to sell school supplies, toilet paper and paper bags against the advice of his father’s attorney. Over the next two decades, colorful and glamorous bags were in high demand as more shopping centers and strip malls popped up around the country. City Paper capitalized on the trend, adding an art department to design custom packaging.

The City Paper staff showing their love.

In the 1970s, Paul’s sons, Paul Jr. and Mark, joined the company. In the next decade, they opened Paper Works, a party goods store. Their sister Sandy ran the business with her sister-in-law Cathy (Mark’s wife). During City Paper’s 100th year in business in 1997, Paul Jr. became the president and CEO while Mark became executive vice president. In 2009, Paul Sr. passed away, proudly having never retired.

In the 2010s, the fourth generation of Friedmans took over City Paper, expanding the company’s focus. Mark’s son Brad is the current president and CEO, and his wife Stephanie joined the company in 2014 to help grow the retail packaging side of the business as well as the promotional marketing side. In addition, they’re raising their two little girls, who could one day usher in the next generation of City Paper.

“His office is located on one end of the building and mine is on the other, so it’s a long walk,” Stephanie Friedman laughs. “It’s all about respecting boundaries, knowing when the work needs to come home with us. Some days are harder than others, but we have a yin and yang thing going on. He definitely balances me out and I like to think I balance him out too.”

Of course, juggling the day-to-day responsibilities is easier when you have faith in your team. “The beautiful thing is watching how they come together when Brad and I are out of the office,” Friedman says. “They know what we expect and they pour their hearts into what they do every day. They all truly care about our company and our customers.”

Friday is putt-putt day in the office.