Looking Forward to Doing Business in Their Hometown
L-R Casey and Andrew Blair
By John T. Ryan
Peru – Anyone thinking of installing new kitchen cabinets has a new option. Apple Country Cabinets at 2924 Main St opened early last year by appointment, but as of a few days ago it has regular hours (Tuesday – Friday 8 a.m. – 5 p.m.) and on Saturdays by appointment. The business is operated by Peru natives Casey and Andrew Blair who transformed an aging former convenience store into one of Peru’s most attractive business buildings at the Bear Swamp Rd. – Rt 22/Main Street intersection.
Although they’re young men Casey (30) and Andrew (28) have 30 years of construction experience between them having worked with their father Leon Blair, a well-known local general contractor, since their mid-teens. They’re at a point in their lives when they want to make a change. Casey explained, “We want to do something different, but still work in the same field.”
Cabinets are a good fit with Casey and Andrew’s experience. Casey said, “We offer an in-house installation package. That differentiates us from other folks. We installed 90% of the kitchens we sold last year and most of them involved light renovation.”
The Blairs go to a customer’s location to look over the job, talk with the customer and do a draft drawing. Back at the store Andrew uses the drawing and kitchen design software to help a customer visualize how their cabinet choices will look with a specific wall covering, flooring and even a specific granite.
The brothers spent two years researching cabinet manufacturers to find the right products for this region. Casey stated, “We want to feel comfortable putting our cabinets into our father’s custom-built homes.” They offer cabinets at three price levels with a wide-range of hardware. Casey described the cabinet lines as good, better and best. One line can be delivered to the store in 10 days, semi-custom cabinets are delivered in 3 to 5 weeks and full custom-made cabinets are delivered in 6 to 7 weeks.
Both Casey and Andrew Blair are thrilled to be operating a business in Peru. Casey said, “What a better place to start a business than in your own hometown. We were born and raised here. Dad does business here. We went to school here. I have two sons now and they’ll go to school here. It’s a neat story.”
Posted: August 12th, 2019 under Business News, Peru News, Peru resident news/accomplishments.