Newspaper Page Text
The Champion, Thursday, January 7-13, 2016 BUSINESS Page 17A
Before and after pictures show how Kitchen Tune-Up makes quick, simple changes to update a kitchen.
Kitchen remodeling firm sees DeKalb as next big market
by Kathy Mitchell
A business that started 28
years ago in Aberdeen, S. D.,
is looking at DeKalb County
as its potential next big mar
ket. It is now in 40 states.
Kitchen Tune-Up officials
have identified DeKalb as ex
actly the type of place one or
more of its franchises could
find success.
The company recently
announced a franchise
growth plan targeting major
markets throughout DeKalb
County, including North
Druid Hills, Decatur and
Dunwoody, as well as into
Atlanta.
“We look at demograph
ics such as age of homes and
household income to deter
mine where there might be a
lot of interest in our services.
DeKalb County, in par
ticular, has been pinpointed
for expansion because of
its strong mix of attractive
residential and growing busi
ness communities where
the signature one-day wood
restoration service would be
in demand,” said Heidi Mor
rissey, Kitchen Tune-Up’s
vice president of marketing
and sales.
“We have an extra in
centive to look at DeKalb
because we have gotten a
number of calls from home-
owners in DeKalb wanting
to know if we have an office
that can serve them. Right
now, we have franchises in
Columbus and other Geor
gia cities, but nothing in the
DeKalb area,” Morrissey con
tinued.
Heidi Morrissey is vice president
of sales and marketing at the com
pany founded by her parents.
Kitchen Tune-Up was
founded by Morrissey’s par
ents, Dave and Cindy Ha-
glund. Morrissey explained
that her dad was working
for a department store chain
when he decided to start his
own business. “He wasn’t re
ally a handyman; his strength
was customer service. He
knew there was a strong
demand for kitchen im
provements—everyone has
a kitchen—so he decided to
focus there,” Morrissey said.
After Dave Haglund had
operated a successful kitchen
remodeling business for 13
years, a chance remark from
a customer started him on
the road to the company that
became Kitchen Tune-Up.
After having her kitchen re
modeled, the customer com
mented, “I wish I could keep
my cabinets looking new
forever.” From there he con
sidered what it would take
to revitalize a kitchen from
time-to-time. He created a
process to keep wood surfac
es looking fresh and new.
“He had just taken his
car in for a tune-up and
thought about how the ser
vice he created does the
same thing for a kitchen that
the mechanics had done for
his car. So he decided to call
the business Kitchen Tune-
Up,” Morrissey said.
Because demand for the
service was so great, the
founders set out to create a
business model that could be
applied beyond their service
area. They were weighing
whether to launch a chain
of dealerships or franchise
the business when a relative
invited Dave Haglund to at
tend a seminar on that topic.
“When he left the semi
nar, he knew franchising was
the way to go. Interestingly,
Aberdeen is good place to
launch a franchise. There al
ready were franchises based
here, including one of the
major fast food restaurant
chains,” Morrissey said.
“Dad had no trouble finding
a franchise attorney and the
other experts he needed to
help him get started.”
It wasn’t long before de
mand was booming, accord
ing to Morrissey. She said
a small item about Kitchen
Tune-Up in a national maga
zine attracted more than
100,000 inquiries.
In 1988, Kitchen Tune-
Up sold its first franchise and
now has more than 170 fran
chise partners. Entrepreneur
magazine ranked Kitchen
Tune-Up No. 1 in its cat
egory on its 2015 Franchise
500® list. “We are proud our
franchise system has received
the top ranking in our cate
gory for more than 20 years,”
Morrissey said.
In addition to its sig
nature one-day “tune-up,”
the company offers other
kitchen remodeling services
including cabinet re-facing,
re-dooring, custom cabinets,
storage solutions and more.
“Almost all of the jobs are
completed in five days or
less. We know what a nui
sance it can be for a custom
er having work done in their
homes. We are committed to
causing as little disruption as
possible. Even when we have
to work over several days at
the end of each work day we
leave the kitchen so that it
can be used,” Morrissey said.
She noted that one of
the challenges of operating
Kitchen Tune-Up as a fran
chise is assuring uniform
quality. “A fast food chain
can send people out to check
individual stores to see how
well they are serving custom
ers. More than 50 percent of
our franchise partners are
home based so we follow up
with customers to be sure
they were pleased with work
and the service. Also, we are
careful in selecting franchise
partners. We look for owners
who want a brand that prides
itself in quality. Once we find
what we call a brand warrior,
we make sure they get the
best training and support we
can give.”
The Physicians' Care Clinic is
the oldest and largest volunteer-led
clinic serving residents of DeKalb
County. We offer non-emergency,
comprehensive primary medical
care that includes chronic disease
management and education services
to low-income, uninsured adults who
are not eligible for Medicaid.
Check our website for patient
eligibility requirements, application,
clinic location, and hours at www.
physicianscareclinic.org or call (404)
501-7940.
[ Interested in volunteering?
Medical professionals and others please contact physcareclinic@gmail.com
or call (404) 501-7960.
CONNECTEDNESS
DeKalb Chamber of Commerce • Two Decatur Town Center, 125 Clairemont Ave., Suite, Decatur, GA 30030 • 404.378.8000 • www.dekalbchamber.org
Dekalb chamber
fill KVa I k Of OM VINCI