Meet Melissa & Christopher Perez
Boyars has been serving San Diego since 1974. The current owners (myself and husband Chris Perez) were employees of the company for 20 years who purchased the company when the previous owner retired. We were already managing all operations for several years and I was already (and am) the licensee for the business. We are both native San Diegans, as well as our 3 children (ages 9, 13 and 22). We live in Stonebridge of Scripps Ranch.
My husband and I both started off from entry level positions. I started as a receptionist and my husband started off building drawers in the shop. We both worked from the ground up through every position in the company. I went from receptionist, to project coordinating to accounting to sales to management. Chris went from shop helper, to cabinet builder, to stainer/finisher to installer to management. We have taken courses in kitchen design and the like, but are mostly self-taught from hands on experience from the last 25 years. Prior to Boyar’s we both worked for a local closet company for 5 years (which is where we originally met 23 years ago).
Our business is a custom cabinet company that specializes in refacing. We can build custom any cabinetry but 95% of our business comes from refacing. Since we started off in closets, we have expertise in organizers, custom cabinets and refacing. When we first started with Boyar’s 20 years ago, there were only a handful of employees (we now have 25). Chris and I worked hard to bring the company to what it is now, so when the owner retired it only made sense that we would be the buyers. We are still only a San Diego business. Not a franchise. Not a LA company driving down to San Diego. The true definition of a LOCAL, FAMILY-OWNED business.
The longevity of our employees is what makes us unique and their skill level. Most of our employees (shop, installation and design team) have all been with the company for several years. Most have been with us 15-20 years also. Our installers are all true craftsmen. Refacing some time can seem like a shortcut as most refacing is very basic. We see companies focused on how quickly it can be done rather than the quality behind it. The homes in your community are anything but basic and require a certain skill level and true expertise to work around the unique characteristics and to guide potential clients to what can and cannot be done in their kitchens, when it comes to refacing. Home improvement is a sales-driven industry. Focused on hiring salespeople. We focus on the relationship with our clients. The repeat business, the referrals and the true relationships our designers develop with our clients. When they are referred, many times they are asked for by name. One thing that is consistent in any review, is always the quality and it exceeding their expectations. We are anything but BASIC refacers. In addition, we offer a true, lifetime warranty on our refacing. Hardware, installation and moving parts are all warranted for as long as they own the home. All they have to do is call us, and we set a service for someone to come out. It’s the best in the business.
Shop local. Shop experience. When you shop from a business that does not have a local factory, it makes things that much more difficult should they need a service call or assistance. We fabricate all our own cabinets and stain and paint our own products with most environmentally-friendly products available. Most finishes are solvent free and arrive to the clients home completed. No staining and painting done inside the clients home, unnecessarily exposing them to harmful odors and VOC’s. It also allows us to manage the quality directly. If and when things arise at an installation, it allows us to respond quickly since we are local.
Most importantly, we actually care. We are VERY involved on the day to day operations. We care about the customers. We care about our employees and we care about our community. We try to support other local small businesses when we can. And we are always just a phone call away. At the end of the day, we have a get it done attitude and truly believe our quality and how much we care about the actual job we do is literally what makes us so successful.
