About Us

Devlin & Sons, Inc. isn’t just a business. It’s a family story laid in brick and concrete, strengthened by grit, loyalty and love. It started with my husband’s grandfather, was passed to his father, and now it’s in the hands of my husband, Pete, and me.

Pete’s grandfather, also named Peter Devlin, came to the U.S. from England with a trade in his hands and a strong sense of how things should be done. He joined the local bricklayer’s union, but was quickly put off by the lack of care he saw. He was used to showing up in a clean suit for lunch, while others rolled in filthy from the site. The standards he was raised with just didn’t match what he was seeing. So, he did what many hardworking dreamers do. He went out on his own and started Devlin & Sons.

At first, the work was slow, starting with small residential jobs around the area, but every project was done with pride, and his reputation grew. He eventually purchased a piece of land with a small farmhouse on it (now our current home!) and built three more houses on it, two of which are still in the family. We call it the Devlin compound.

When Grandad Peter passed away suddenly, his son, Peter J. Devlin (my father-in-law), took the reins. He not only kept the business going but expanded it, branching into commercial work. He also led bigger projects, like the original Devlin Gymnastics building (now Epic Gymnastics) in Wall Township and the old Haagen Dazs factory in New Jersey.

During this time, Pete had the kind of childhood kids dream about with beach days, dirt bikes and jet skis, all with his dad chasing each adventure with him. Things changed when his father was diagnosed with scleroderma. Pete was just 19. He put his own plans on hold and stepped into the business, helping manage job sites while his dad fought through treatments. They worked side by side until the disease took his father just two weeks before our wedding in 2018.

It was devastating, but the deep relationships Pete’s dad had built over the years held us up. Friends offered financial help, advice and even picked up tools to keep things going while Pete found his footing.

Pete’s mother, Rose Marie Devlin, still officially owns the company. She was the office manager during her husband’s time at the helm and stood by his side through every season. Today, she works full time for the Monmouth County Sheriff’s Department and loves spending time with our two daughters and her granddaughter in California. Her quiet strength has been a steady thread through it all.

Today, Pete and I run the daily operations of Devlin & Sons together. He’s in the field managing projects and is an expert in his craft. I run the office and stay home with our girls, who love visiting Daddy at job sites and “doing paperwork” with Mommy.

We handle residential and commercial work in concrete masonry, demolition, and excavation, and we’re exploring general contracting. Like many small businesses, COVID hit us hard. No one wanted to work. Unemployment was easier, and we had to fight to stay afloat. It’s been a tough seven years, but momentum is building again. Pete works harder than ever, not just out of respect for what was built before him, but because this work is in him. The business side took learning, but he figured it out. He weathered the storm and now he’s ready to thrive.

Outside of work, we love hosting pizza nights with friends, summer days on the water, and building up our little homestead with chickens, ducks, dogs and a garden. We were both born and raised in Howell and now we’re raising our girls here, too. Anytime someone mentions moving, Pete just says, “We have community here.” That says it all.

When I asked Pete what he wants for the future of Devlin & Sons, he said, “Just keep going. Keep growing. Maybe it’ll be something our girls want to take over someday.”

That’s the heart of it. Not just a business, it’s our life, built over generations and still going strong.

By: Amanda Devlin, President