Doing one thing and doing it extremely well has made stone countertop purveyor Chippewa Stone a huge success

By Bill Yurgen

There’s an old business adage that warns, “Never try to be all things to all people.”

Sounds like common sense, but the history of business is littered with shuttered companies that attempted to venture beyond the scope of the company founder’s original vision.

An example is a national retailer that closed its doors last year. It was an appliance chain. When it began selling mattresses and furniture, it became apparent the end was most likely near.

Big home improvement stores try to work the same “something for everyone” philosophy, but ultimately survive by their mass presence rather than by doing any one thing really well.

Established in 2004, locally owned Chippewa Stone is a good example of a retailer that over time learned to do one thing exquisitely well—and run with it. This philosophy has allowed the company to become one of the region’s top stone countertop fabricators and retailers.

Chippewa Stone
Courtney Gruber co-owns Chippewa Stone with her husband, Oskar.

“We started as a kitchen and bath design center with a heavy concentration on granite countertops that our customers could select indoors,” she says.

“It was a novel approach and we soon began to grow rapidly. As we did, stone countertops became a larger and larger part of our business. Because selling and fabricating stone is so involved, specializing became the obvious direction to take our business.”

Shopping Indoors, Comfortably
“Our customers told us they appreciated our indoor warehouse approach,” she notes.

“They in turn referred even more customers just for stone countertops. Word got around about our quality and craftsmanship and that our customers could comfortably shop for stone in light similar to that in their homes, versus outdoors where the NE Ohio skies can be gray and dreary. Many of them tell us that shopping in the warm and dry indoors allows them to make a better decision.”

Newly Expanded
Recently, Courtney and Oskar expanded that indoor shopping experience…by over 20,000 square feet with stone in over one hundred colors.

One of a Kind
Chippewa Stone also has customers who have visited large retailers with small samples of very generic stone.

“The problem is those choices from mass marketers are often limited and the consumer doesn’t have the opportunity to choose from complete slabs of more individualized stone,” she says.

“Much of what we have is one of a kind. The same type may be available elsewhere, but each slab is different due to how it was formed. In this business, we speak of the various patterns of color naturally formed in each slab as ‘movement’ because on some stones the pattern actually resembles a moving flow of color and shape. Where the mass retailers sell consistency, we do, too. But we also offer a product that is at once unique and a natural work of art. Our customers love having options.”

Surprisingly Affordable
Customers also adore how affordable Chippewa Stone is.

“Frequently people leave here grinning from ear to ear because they purchased a piece that is unique to their home for a price at or below what they would have paid elsewhere for something far more pedestrian,” Courtney says.

Quality People, Quality Work
Oskar and Courtney take great pride in the organization they have built over the years.

“We are a family business and the staff here is our extended family. Most of our employees have been here for many years and possess the high level of skills that only years in the trade can provide,” she says.

“We continue to grow, but we make certain all new employees are up to our high standards. Our fabricators know precisely how to extract the best presentation of every piece they craft. Our sales people know the background of every slab, what makes it different from the rest and what will best suit your expectations regardless of whether you choose granite, marble or engineered quartz countertops for inside or outside your home.”

Chippewa Stone is located at 4930 Chippewa Rd., in Medina. Hours are Monday-Wednesday and Friday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.; Thursday, 9a.m.-7 p.m.; Saturday, 9 a.m.-2 p.m. You may contact them at 330-662-4202 or email courtney@mychippewastone.com. For additional information, visit MyChippewaStone.com.