Kitchen Made Proud

There are a lot of reasons to choose Chippewa Stone for your next kitchen project. The indoor showroom makes it easy to browse the vast selection, and the prices rival those of any box store. The Gruber Family (back row, left to right): Courtney, Mik

I’ll bet almost everyone has an ugly kitchen countertop story. I remember my mother used to have a laminate countertop where the heat from the electric skillet she’d use now and then had buckled the countertop underneath. The adjacent edge molding, which had also become unglued, provided something fun to play with when she wasn’t looking. Every holiday, she’d carefully place clear tape down to hold the offending laminate in place, and then rest a stack of cookbooks on it so no one would notice.

She thought.

My uncle Ben would always slyly comment just before he left, “Still haven’t fixed that countertop, have you Francie?”

Chippewa Stone carries a vast selection of granite indoors, out of the weather, so you can
comfortably choose the right stone.”

One year she was so fed up, she finally had my father replace the countertop with a new laminate top. Two years later, we were back to cookbooks and tape. Today we would say she was chic and green, but she was really just trying to be frugal and had limited choices.

Fast forward to 2011 and there are so many choices it could make your head spin. And you can be as extravagant as you wish—or as frugal—and still enjoy the beauty and durability of natural stone.

But lots of choices can be a problem. Especially when it comes to stone fabricators. With the popularity of stone (and a lot of people being laid off from other lines of work) many people jumped into the stone countertop business.

There are, however, a few who were already there long before, and who have more experience, resources and design capabilities, like Oskar and Courtney Gruber, proud owners of Chippewa Stone. In fact, other retailers count on Chippewa Stone to supply their countertops. As a full-service provider that can design, measure, cut, finish, and install countertops for its customers, there is no reason to even think about paying full price at one of those box stores.

As business partners, Oskar and Courtney have the perfect marriage. In fact the whole staff works so well together, you would think they are all one big, happy family. But business-wise the Gruber’s relationship is a perfect symbiosis. Oskar runs the production side with an Old World work ethic of utilizing highly trained experts for fabrication and installation. Your kitchen countertop that everyone sees will never be some employee’s learn-as-you-earn project in Oskar’s shop. Perfect edges, well-crafted seams, and a flawless fit are hallmarks of Chippewa Stone’s work.

Even the stone itself is better than some other retailers offer. “Our countertops are a full one-and-a-quarter-inch thick. We don’t use built-up veneer or other tricks some places use to reduce the cost. And we don’t use granite that has been pre-fabricated in China. We are dedicated to quality and providing employment in the local economy,” Oskar says.

Courtney runs the sales and design side of Chippewa. And she understands firsthand what busy moms and professional women are looking for when they shop at Chippewa Stone.

“Almost everyone who comes here to shop ends up buying from us,” she says. “Our prices are competitive and our staff is very friendly. People get that we are family-oriented and we know how much they want their kitchens to be beautiful. We have a vast selection inside, out of the weather, so you can comfortably choose the right stone. Our staff has extensive kitchen design experience because we design and sell kitchens as well. We also sell a wide variety of engineered materials, like Silestone, Zodiaq, and other brands. We can help you find the right color and the right edge treatment that will transform your kitchen into one that will have all of your friends talking.”

Chippewa Stone is located at 4930 Chippewa Road, in Medina. Phone 330-662-4202 for more information, or visit www.dev.prizumweb.com/chippewa.