What Recession? Kitchen Remodeling Firm Thrives in Hard Times

The home improvement industry has been making a slow, tentative comeback in the past few years, ever since the big recession, the housing bust, and easy credit seemingly ended the days when homeowners had bottomless wallets for remodeling.

It hasn't been that way for John Grdinich's firm. When other remodeling companies were hitting the skids, The Solid Wood Cabinet Company was just getting started. The company was born just before home improvement market started bottoming out in 2007, and it's done nothing but thrive since. 

That's what "quality, price, and speed" will do, he claimed, citing the company's motto. "It's what we live by. We have six stores now, and next year, we'll be opening 15 more."

Business is good, Grdinich said, and you believe him.

The company, which specializes in kitchen remodeling and design, just opened a new showroom in at Crosspointe Town Square, the strip mall across from . The lavish kitchen models are awe-inspiring, and the designers urge browsers to take pictures. 

"There's always a market for excellent materials, quality workmanship at good prices," Grdinich, the company's marketing director, said.

The firm started out as Close Out Cabinets five years ago. When the new owners purchased it in 2011, they said that the old name "just wasn't doing the company justice."

So the name change to The Solid Wood Cabinet Company, Grdinich said, heralded a steady growth the company experiences to this day. With100,000 cabinets in stock and $4 million in inventory in their 160,000 sq. ft. Levittown, Penn. warehouse, there's little in the way of cabinetry the firm can't handle, Grdinich said. 

"The best bang for the buck for the homeowner is in renovating kitchens and bathrooms. We have our own milling machines, we create our own cabinets. Everything is hardwood, there isn't a stick of pressed wood anywhere," he said. Grdinich cited the company's dedication to the best kitchen remodeling at a reasonable price point.

"We can do a small kitchen for anywhere from $5,000 to $20,000," he said. 

The thing is that The Solid Wood Cabinet Company's $20K kitchen, Grdinich said, "would cost $45,000 somewhere else. We save customers 50 percent." 

The price includes the lavish cabinets, which are a thing of beauty to behold in the showroom. "Everything is quality. We use European hinges, full extension drawers. Everything is solid," he said.

Their remodeling includes granite countertops for kitchen and bath. "We sell and install it," Grdinich said. "We can beat the 'big box stores' by $20 a square foot for the same materials."

The company has ventured into creative tile backsplashes and flooring as well. "We're trying to do full service for our customers. They appreciate it," he said.

Grdinich also prides himself on the company's turnaround. "We can have delivery ready in five business days" for a kitchen, he said. 

"Compare that to a big box store at six to eight weeks."

Their website is solidwoodcabinets.com. For more info, call 855-644-9663.