FXBG Neighbors Podcast
Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast
FXBG Neighbors Podcast
EP #60 Three Brothers Transform Fredericksburg Kitchens One Home at a Time
What happens when three military veterans decide to transform their brotherhood into a business partnership? Matt Lethbridge reveals the inspiring journey behind Kitchen Tune-Up of Fredericksburg and Stafford, the remodeling company he owns with his brothers Jake (his identical twin) and Zach.
These former combat engineers and Navy veterans have leveraged their military precision to create a thriving kitchen and interior remodeling business serving the local community. Matt shares how their company offers services for every need and budget—from wood cabinet reconditioning and refacing to complete custom kitchens—all while maintaining the same standards they'd expect in their own homes. Beyond kitchens, they've expanded to basements, bathrooms, and built-ins as a licensed Class A contractor.
The conversation dives into the brothers' close relationship, balancing business with family time at their parents' Lake Anna home, coaching their children's sports teams, and even their competitive pickleball matches. Matt candidly discusses the challenges of working with siblings, revealing how communication has been their key to resolving disagreements and aligning their business vision. His advice for entrepreneurs? "Do something that you thoroughly enjoy and love" and "surround yourself with the best people."
What truly sets Kitchen Tune-Up apart is their approach to customer service. Matt acknowledges that mistakes happen in any business, but emphasizes their commitment to making things right when they do—a philosophy reflected in their stellar Google reviews. Whether you're planning a kitchen refresh or a complete home transformation, discover how these veteran brothers are bringing military discipline and family values to home improvement in Fredericksburg and Stafford.
Matt Lethbridge
Kitchen Tune-Up Fredericksburg & Stafford
kitchentuneup.com/fredericksburg-va/
zlethbridge@kitchentuneup.com
+1 540-779-0301
This is the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast, the place where local businesses and neighbors come together. Here's your host, Dori Stewart.
Speaker 2:Welcome back to another episode of the FXBG Neighbors Podcast, where we share the stories of our favorite local brands. Today I'm excited to introduce you to Matt Lethbridge of Kitchen Tune-Up of Fredericksburg and Stafford. Matt, welcome to the podcast.
Speaker 3:Thanks for having me, Dori, I really appreciate it.
Speaker 2:Well, I'm excited to learn more about your business. So let's start there. Share with us a little bit about Kitchen Tune-Up.
Speaker 3:So we are Kitchen Tune-Up Fredericksburg in Stafford, owned by me and my two brothers, Jake and Zach, Lethbridge. Jake and I are identical twins, so that's a lot of fun. Obviously we're family owned, but we're also a veteran and locally owned company that specializes in kitchen and interior remodeling. Within the kitchen we offer a variety of services that kind of fit all needs, styles and budgets. And within the kitchen we offer variety of services that kind of fit all needs, styles and budgets. And within the kitchen we offer uh wood cabinet reconditioning, uh cabinet refacing, re-dooring, cabinet painting and custom kitchens, custom cabinets. Outside of that, we do basements, bathrooms, built-ins, etc. We're a licensed class A contractor, you know, insured company. Last thing I'll say about us is we have a great team. You know, outside of the ownership team consists of me, Jake and Zach, installers, sales design team, management staff, our office staff. We have a great bunch of girls and guys.
Speaker 2:Amazing, so exciting, to start a business and be working with your family. So share with us a little bit about your backstory and your journey, and how the three of you landed on starting this business.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so first me, Jake and Zach are all very close and for the longest time we wanted to start a business together. So it kind of started there, Going back a little bit. As I mentioned, we're veterans Jake was in the Navy, Zach and I were both combat engineers in the Marine Corps and with that we wanted to do something that we can get down and dirty, do some physical labor, but also sit behind a desk and run the business. It's lined. We all ended up in Fredericksburg, Spotsylvania area and after some personal experiences that we had with some contractors, doing our own market research and kind of analyzing our strengths and weaknesses, we kind of settled on kitchen remodeling and it gave us a chance to work with four people, excuse me and give back a little bit.
Speaker 2:So it was a good fit Amazing, amazing. So it was a win-win all around. I love it.
Speaker 3:Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 2:I love it. So tell me when you're not busy working on your business, which I imagine you spend a lot of time there.
Speaker 3:What are you doing for fun outside of Kitchen Tune-Up? Yeah, so we're fortunate. Uh, our parents are local, uh, they have, they have a house on lake annum, um, so it's a beautiful place. Uh, so when the three of us are together and we're not working, um, there's a good chance. We're at my parents lake house enjoying some time on the water, um, so that's a lot of fun. We're truly blessed for that. Um, Zach has some older kids elementary, elementary, middle school aged. So Jake and Zach are involved with some coaching, so they do that after work. I have some younger kids, so I spend time with my wife, my two young kids and, of course, my dog can't forget him. Some other things uh, pickleball is kind of in right now, so, uh, saturday morning early I will wake up and play some competitive pickleball. Uh, and then the last thing I'll say I'd be remiss if I didn't mention, with the, the season about to start, we enjoy some fantasy football, so I'll throw that in there. It's a lot of fun nice, I love it.
Speaker 2:So do you play pickleball with your brothers um, I mean, yeah, we played recently.
Speaker 3:um, it goes back and forth, it's a lot of fun. It gets heated, but it's a lot of fun.
Speaker 2:I love it. That's fun. Can you describe a challenge or a hardship that you've been through that has now made you stronger for it, whether personally or in business?
Speaker 3:Yeah, that's a really good question and I guess I'll apologize kind of up front for maybe the lack of specificity with my answer. But like the other entrepreneurs and business owners you've probably talked to, owning a business is certainly a challenge. You have to have the technical knowledge with whatever industry you're in, but owning a business is also a significant creative endeavor. That's not necessarily black and white, so with that can come disagreements and the matter of fact that there there is three of us, potentially three different viewpoints on business goals, expectations, strategy, branding. Of course, sometimes you disagree and we've kind of had to work through this.
Speaker 3:But communication is key. Sometimes have to put personal pride aside if one of us is wrong or perhaps less right, but ultimately we have gotten together, communicated and done what's best for the business. I kind of liken it to airing your grievances on Seinfeld I felt bad. So that's kind of what it comes down to is just getting on the same page, having our priorities and intent aligned. We have disagreed, we failed, but at the same time we've also come together, succeeded in the company and our personal relationship is better because of that.
Speaker 2:So yeah, yeah, Amazing. It's such a great learning experience and great for others to hear that you know people who are working in a business with family and friends or thinking about it. So is there any other advice that you might give someone who is thinking about starting their own business?
Speaker 3:Yeah, a little bit again cliche, but certainly do something that you thoroughly enjoy and love. And then, when it comes to growing and scaling, you know, take your time and get the right people around you. Get the people that you truly love, respect and trust. Don't sacrifice kind of your vision and where you want to take the company, make sure they're bought in, but surround yourself with the best people. And that's kind of the best advice that I can give yeah, that's really good advice.
Speaker 2:Make sure you're all focused in the same direction and have the same vision. I love it.
Speaker 3:Yes, ma'am.
Speaker 2:What is something that you wish the listeners knew about? Kitchen Tune-Up.
Speaker 3:Yeah, so again going back to a little bit cliche, however, we respect and treat our customers homes as if they were it was our own home and we instill try to instill that in our installers. That serves as the basis or level of care, attention to detail and quality of work that our customers receive, that they get from us. And to caveat that and this is a little bit of a bugger, but I'd probably get in trouble with Jake and Zach on saying this but mistakes happen. We aren't perfect. But what I can say is you know, if we're at fault, we will engage with the customer and do our absolute best to make things right and there's no sacrificing and coming off. That and I believe our Google reviews and that kind of speaks to that testament and kind of what we're about, and that's our competitive advantage, so to speak.
Speaker 2:You have amazing Google reviews, so congratulations on that.
Speaker 3:Thank you.
Speaker 2:And it is, you know, a lesson for all contractors. No business is immune to mistakes, but in how you handle it is everything.
Speaker 3:That's right. Especially when you're in their home, you certainly want to respect their space. So yeah, you're absolutely right, this man.
Speaker 2:So if the listeners want to connect with you or learn more about Kitchen Tune-Up, how can they find you?
Speaker 3:Yeah, go to Google, check us out Kitchen Tune-Up of Fredericksburg and Stafford, or you can go straight to kitchentuneup. com. We're also on Facebook and Instagram, and then we also have a little selection center on Lafayette Boulevard near downtown Fredericksburg. But best tool is just go to Google and look us up.
Speaker 2:Amazing Matt. Thank you so much for joining me on the podcast today.
Speaker 3:Yeah, thanks for having me. I really appreciate it.
Speaker 1:Thank you for listening to the Fredericksburg Neighbors Podcast. To nominate your favorite local businesses to be featured on the show, go to fxbgneighborspodcast. com.