Since 1972, Craftsman Cabinets & Flooring has been helping Tri-Citians find and install the cabinetry, countertops and flooring to suit their residential and commercial projects.
Shawn Longwell, son of founders Roger and Kathy Longwell, and his wife Juliana decided to sell the family business after 20 years at the helm to David Chavey-Reynaud and his wife, Tori Chavey.
“They really vetted us,” Chavey-Reynaud said. “Not coming from a background in the cabinetry and flooring industry, they wanted to make sure we would be able to step into the role. They wanted to make sure their business and their employees were going to be taken care of.”
The new owners got a vote of confidence for their efforts as they received an entrepreneurship award from the Richland Rotary Club’s Entrepreneurial Awards program in November. The Tri-City Development Council (TRIDEC) nominated them for the award, saying: “The business’s new owners combine a respect for the company’s 50-year legacy with a fresh vision. They’ll maintain the company’s values of quality, integrity and exceptional service while pursuing innovation and growth.”
“Owning a business had been a career goal of mine for the past 10 years,” said Chavey-Reynaud. He earned his Master of Business Administration eight years ago. Previously, he served as the chief operations officer for the Benton-Franklin Workforce Development Council and before that worked for TRIDEC. The Tri-Cities Area Journal of Business chose him as a Young Professional winner in 2021.
“I’ve explored other opportunities over the past several years, but we very much were waiting for the right fit,” he said.
When the company at 122 Wellsian Way in Richland came up on a business buy-and-sell listing, the couple showed up within the week it was posted.
The Chaveys had been putting aside money for a future business purchase and exploring Small Business Administration loans when they had the idea to ask the Longwells if they would be willing to provide seller financing. The Longwells said yes.
“It left us with enough capital to tackle upfront expenses that come with taking over a business,” Chavey-Reynaud said.
With the sale came the passing of the Craftsman torch – a commitment to quality and customer service.
“Craftsman has an excellent reputation in the community for those who have done business with them,” Chavey-Reynaud said, adding that for years the company has thrived on internal connections, return customers and word-of-mouth.
The company serves the greater Tri-City community, including Prosser, Sunnyside, Grandview, Yakima, Connell, Walla Walla, Hermiston, Pendleton and Boardman.
Craftsman started out selling residential flooring products exclusively, then expanded into commercial flooring, and later added cabinetry to its offerings.
About seven years ago, the previous owners invested in a CNC – computer numerical control – machine which enabled Craftsman to fabricate custom frameless cabinetry in-house at a competitive price-point.
This opened more opportunities for securing contracts with corporate customers, such as Amazon, Darigold and local companies like C3 Tri-Cities and Spudnuts.
The Craftsman team also has experience working on government contracts at the Hanford site. It recently worked on a remodel of the decontamination shower units for Energy Northwest.
Despite Craftsman’s longstanding presence in the community, one of the areas the new owners have been finetuning is the business’ visibility in the community.
“For the longest time, it’s been commercial versus residential being the primary pipeline, and it still is to this day, but we’re working on building this up. … The lack of marketing has hit us hardest on residential,” Chavey-Reynaud said.
“Tri-Cities has grown a lot in the last 15 years,” he said. “Anyone who’s moved here is relying on web or internet marketing of one kind or another. Since we haven’t had as much of that, we’ve missed out on the new population.”
As a result, the new owners have been working on search engine optimization, building out their website and being more aggressive about securing government contracts.
The couple also have been working on restructuring and streamlining efficiencies, both behind the scenes and on the showroom floor.
Craftsman steadily employs 15 people.
They promoted one employee to serve as a shop foreman to provide oversight for fabrication projects, as well as hired a full-time designer to help customers bring their projects to life, using software to 3D model what the flooring and other finishes will look like in the customer’s own space.
They’ve done a lot of cleaning up, purging and reorganizing on the manufacturing floor, as well as opened the showroom floor, focusing on their top-selling products so customers can “experience and dream about where they want to go with their kitchen or bath project,” Chavey-Reynaud said.
Craftsman offers free estimates on the full spectrum of high-end finishes, from flooring such as hardwood, luxury vinyl, tile, laminate and carpet, as well as countertop surfaces like quartz, granite, marble, laminate and custom cabinetry from Karman Cabinets and DeWils Cabinet manufacturers.
“Big box stores offer a lot of the same products, but are far more limited in the lines offered,” Chavey-Reynaud said. “We hope to be a one-stop shop and make it as simple as it can be.”
“I don’t think there’s anywhere in Tri-Cities that does what Craftsman does, which is the holistic remodel. … You can remodel your entire kitchen, bathroom, flooring across your entire house, and we have experienced people who can help you,” he said.
One Craftsman project manager has been with the company for 20 years, another for 11. Chavey-Reynaud said their most junior project manager has been on the team for five years.
Craftsman also is a licensed general contractor in Washington and Oregon so it can serve as a single point of contact for lining up subcontractors needed for different aspects of the remodel such as plumbing or electrical.
Under the new ownership, Craftsman also now offers a handyman service at a competitive rate of $90 per hour. Customers can submit handyman requests for projects that don’t involve plumbing or electrical work and when business is slow, Craftsman will tackle them.
In addition to co-owning Craftsman as an Office of Minority and Women’s Business Enterprises licensed business, Chavey has continued her work as a private practice therapist.
One new area of expertise that she plans to pursue is a certificate in aging in place from the National Association of Homebuilders.
“It covers best approaches to helping people stay in their home, how to remodel and go beyond just ADA accessibility, such as what kind of flooring can be helpful or what color palettes are easier on a person (with visual impairment),” Chavey said.
On becoming a Tri-City business owner, she said, “I grew up here, this is my home, I love being connected even more.”
Chavey-Reynaud said, “I love the diversity of problem-solving, it’s a million and one new things – little puzzles, new projects to put together. My day is not scheduled out, but I always have a list.”
Hours are 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Monday to Friday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Craftsman Cabinets & Flooring: 122 Wellsian Way, Richland. Contact: 509-943-0637, craftsmancfc.com.
