Good Neighbor Podcast: TN-WNC-SWVA

EP#332: Crafting Home Dreams with Nova Kitchen and Bath

• Skip Mauney & Adam Stephens • Episode 332

Share episode

What does it truly mean to be a local business serving the community for almost 50 years? Adam Stephens, President of Nova Kitchen and Bath, pulls back the curtain on the kitchen and bath remodeling industry in this engaging conversation.

Stevens reveals the journey that brought him from a history education degree to leadership at one of Western North Carolina's most established home improvement companies. His candid insights into the remodeling process dismantle the unrealistic expectations created by weekend renovation shows. "A remodel doesn't take a weekend," Stevens explains. "It takes three months once you get everything in place, and that's after you've made all the decisions." This honest assessment of timelines showcases Nova's commitment to transparency with customers from the very beginning.

What stands out most is Nova's refreshing business philosophy. Rather than pushing for unnecessary renovations, they offer maintenance services to extend the life of existing kitchens. "I don't want to take your money, I just want you to have a kitchen that you like," Stevens shares, highlighting their preference for preservation when possible. This customer-first approach extends to their pricing strategy as well. Stevens emphasizes the importance of creating beautiful spaces that customers can genuinely afford and enjoy without financial stress.

As a company that was "born and bred in this region," Nova Kitchen and Bath demonstrates how local businesses can thrive while prioritizing community values. Their partnerships with organizations like Habitat for Humanity reflect their commitment to giving back. Perhaps most telling is Stevens' perspective on supporting local: "Supporting Nova will not put another BMW in my driveway. It puts clothes on our employees' children's backs." Experience the difference of working with a truly community-focused business by visiting their showroom at 305 Airport Road or connecting through novakitchen.com.

Speaker 1:

This is the Good Neighbor Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Skip Monning.

Speaker 2:

Hello everybody and welcome to the Good Neighbor Podcast of Western North Carolina and East Tennessee. So I'm awfully glad to have a and excited to have a very special guest with us in the studio today who's never been here before, so excited to learn all about them and their enterprise. And I'm sure you will be as well, because today I have the pleasure of introducing your good neighbor, mr Adam Stevens, who is the president of Nova Kitchen and Bath. Adam, welcome to the show.

Speaker 3:

Thanks for having me Really excited to be here.

Speaker 2:

Well, like I said, we're excited to have you and learn all about you and your business. So, if you don't mind, why don't you kick us off by telling us about Nova Kitchen and Bath?

Speaker 3:

Sure Nova Kitchen and Bath is a full-service kitchen and bath store, cabinetry and countertop store. We were founded in 1978, so we've been around for coming up on 50 years in a couple and we serve all of western North Carolina, upstate South Carolina, some of east Tennessee and basically all you know. We are here to provide cabinetry and countertops and accessories for your home.

Speaker 2:

Very good. 50 years Wow, that's impressive.

Speaker 3:

Yeah.

Speaker 2:

You're not quite old enough to be there? 50 years, I don't think. So tell us about your journey. How did you end up here?

Speaker 3:

your journey. How did you? How did you end up here? Okay, um, I was born in western north carolina and went, grew up in northeast georgia and went to school, uh, went to college at georgia college in the center part of the state, um, and then moved back um back home to western north carolina after graduating college and kind of bounced around the region just doing, trying to figure out what I wanted to do. I have my degree in history education and it just didn't feel like where I wanted to end up. And I got an opportunity here, started out as a scheduler, scheduling the jobs and overseeing the manufacturing of tops and deliveries and stuff like that, and then just worked my way up and had an opportunity to step into an ownership role and just took the chance and that's how I'm here.

Speaker 2:

Great, great story. Well, adam, if you could think of any. Are there any myths or misconceptions in the kitchen and bath business that you can think of?

Speaker 3:

Well, I mean we'd like to think that a misconception is that anybody can do what we do. I think the biggest problem we have is kind of trying to correct the home. Improvement shows have really kind of given people a false sense of how long things take to get off the ground. A remodel doesn't take a weekend. It takes three months once you get everything in place, and that's after you've made all the decisions. So it's a longer process.

Speaker 3:

We would love to see our customers come in earlier so that we can help work with them longer. We don't have any problem working with somebody for a year. Our whole thing is. I know it's a stressful process and we would like to try to take something off of your plate to keep you from being so stressed out. We understand how. I mean I've done it myself and it is not easy. My wife wanted to kill me before we got the countertops on the cabinets that we put in. So I totally understand all of that. So I guess I wish people understood how long it takes and that it is kind of a big deal that you're tearing your house apart and putting it back together. So that's probably my biggest concern.

Speaker 2:

I would say I'm just concerned, and I wonder too if you guys spend much time cleaning up what somebody thought they could do themselves, Does that ever happen?

Speaker 3:

It can happen from time to time. Sure, sure Do I know I'm?

Speaker 2:

sorry, no, no, I was just saying. You know, if somebody says, oh yeah, I can do this, tim the Tool man, I can do this myself and watch a YouTube video, and then all of a sudden it's like, oops, we need professional help.

Speaker 3:

First of all, that doesn't make any customer dumb, because I believe the last time my dryer went out I tried to fix it myself too and I was 99% there, but a professional had to finish it up. I totally understand that. I mean, sometimes we get over our skis thinking we can handle something. It doesn't happen as much as you would think. Usually people are pretty scared about messing up their cabinets. They'll usually call in and say hey, what do you? You know, do you have some tips for cleaning them or what can we do to help fix them? And you know we offer we do offer our professionals to come out and like touch your cabinets up and kind of tune them up, I guess like a car. You tune the car up, you know, adjust the doors and drawers, clean the tops of the cabinets, stuff like that. Stuff that you don't necessarily want to do or need to do. We can handle that stuff. So we would just recommend you seek a professional to do any of those touch-ups. It would really extend the length and life of your cabinets.

Speaker 2:

Very good, very good to know. Didn't know that was a service that you guys offered.

Speaker 3:

We just found that too many times people are I don't want to take your money, I just want you to have a kitchen that you like, and if you like your kitchen, I don't see a need to replace it. I think we should try to save things that we can and we want to be a good steward to our neighbors. I mean, we understand that it's not a small thing to put a new kitchen in your house. It's not a small thing. It's a big expense and we understand that and we want to work with you in your budget. I mean, I would feel terrible about putting a beautiful kitchen in somebody's house that they could. They were worried about how they were going to pay for it. I mean, that's that's not any way to enjoy it. These are beautiful cabinets. I want you to enjoy them. That's why you put them in.

Speaker 2:

Very good, very good to know. So, as president, you're obviously a very busy guy. What do you?

Speaker 3:

like to, if you have time for it. What do you like to do for fun? Well, that's a great question. I mean, I've got two. Well, I've got three beautiful kids. One is in college, so she's an adult, she knows everything already, but the I mean I love hanging out with the kids.

Speaker 3:

Everything already, but the uh, I mean I love hanging out with the kids. Obviously, you know, uh, we, uh, we're in the middle of fall ball right now with, uh, my young, my two younger kids, uh, but you know, we just like being. I mean, we're in western north carolina, we're the most beautiful place in the world. I mean, if you're not, you can't find something to do outside. I don't know why you're here. Uh, we, I love gardening. Um, we do hikes. I mean it's. If it's the sun's shining, we're outside very good.

Speaker 2:

Well, you definitely live in a beautiful place, for it no doubt we do absolutely absolutely yeah well, if, um, if, adam, if you could think of one thing that you would like our listeners to remember about nova kitchen and Bath, what would that be?

Speaker 3:

I just want them to know that this is a company born and bred in this region and we're here because of the people that live in this region and we serve the people that live in this region and we are staffed by the people that live in this region and we love all the people in this region. We're here to help and we would love the opportunity to show you what we can do. Don't be intimidated by the size of our showroom. We serve, we are partners with Habitat for Humanity at Buncombe Challenge. I mean we serve literally every person in this community and we are so proud to do that and I would just want, I would want you guys, to all your listeners, to know that I mean we truly do love being here and we are honored to serve truly local is best you know we love supporting our local too.

Speaker 3:

I mean even you know local gas stations, local restaurants. I mean supporting local puts the money back into the community, supporting that Nova will not put another BMW in my driveway. It put clothes on Angie's children's back. And I mean it supports. We are working people and we love. We love working for each other and for our customers.

Speaker 2:

Awesome Sounds great. Well for those of us who may need a touch up in our kitchen or thinking about ripping everything out and starting over. How can we learn more?

Speaker 3:

Absolutely. We're on Instagram. We're on Facebook. We have a website Novakitchencom. We're on Instagram, we're on Facebook. We have a website novakitchencom. We have Western North Carolina's largest kitchen and bath showroom at 305 Airport Road, if you'd like to call it. Our showroom is open for browsing. If you'd like to make an appointment with one of our designers to sit down and really go delve deep, appointments are available. We are open with one of our designers to sit down and really go delve deep. Appointments are available. We are open Monday through Thursday from 8 to 4, and Friday from 8 to 12. And, of course, you can set an appointment any time. We'll work after hours if we need to. We're here for you.

Speaker 2:

All right, very good thing to remember. So, adam, I can't tell you how much I appreciate you taking time out of your busy schedule to tell us, our listeners and viewers, all about you and all about Nova Kitchen and Bath, and we really appreciate what you do in the community because we're a community support program ourselves and appreciate what you're doing with Habitat for Humanity and supporting your neighbors and wish you and your family and your customers and your clients all the best moving forward.

Speaker 3:

Man, we really, really appreciate it. It was so neat and exciting to do this. I really appreciate you reaching out to us. I'm so touched that anybody even thought that we were worthy of talking about. I mean, we just were really appreciative. I'm so touched that anybody even thought that we were worthy of talking about. I mean, we just were really appreciative. I'm super excited to do this and super excited to be here. Thank you so much.

Speaker 2:

Absolutely. Maybe we can have you back sometime.

Speaker 3:

Absolutely, if you guys absolutely love to.

Speaker 2:

All right Sounds good. In the meantime, hope you have a great rest of the week you take care, we'll see you next time all right, man thank you for listening to the good neighbor podcast.

Speaker 1:

to nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to gnp try-citiescom. That's gnp try-citiescom, or call 423-719-5873.