High-quality cabinets, built to last

By Ken McEntee

Particularly if you have kids, you may watch in horror as your kitchen cabinets—not to mention everything else in the house—seem to disintegrate before your eyes. I’ve personally wondered how it’s possible for small humans to cause so much damage.

As it turns out, there actually are people who get paid to ruin cabinets—or at least try.

“Every year we send our cabinets to an independent lab in Virginia that basically tries to destroy them,” says Tony Laurinaitis, owner of Choice Cabinet, a Bedford Heights-based manufacturer and international distributor of ruggedly constructed cabinets. “When we say our cabinets are built like a tank, we want to be able to prove it.”

During testing, Choice Cabinet cabinets are subjected to intense torture.

“They put substantial weight in the drawers and check to make sure the glides still work after opening and closing them 25,000 times,” Tony says. “They even hang weights on the doors and open and close them 25,000 times to see if anything loosens. They test the finish by trying to stain it with mustard, red dye and all kinds of other things.”

The result?

“Our cabinets pass those tests every time, and we’ve been doing this for more than 10 years,” Tony proudly reports. “It gives us the confidence that allows us to offer our limited lifetime warranty. A downfall of many readily available cabinets is that they are poorly constructed using metal clips, cams, staples or glue. Our cabinets are designed and constructed using ‘pocket-screwed’ joinery just like Amish custom cabinets that cost much more.”

Almost as proudly, Tony adds that his “built-to-last” cabinets are shipped throughout the Eastern U.S., the Bahamas and Canada and are produced and distributed by his Cleveland-area company.

“We proudly have our Choice Cabinet logo on each and every drawer of our cabinets,” he notes.

It’s the same kind of pride Clevelanders might feel about the city being home to one of the world’s finest symphony orchestras, or being encircled by a nationally renowned urban park system, or playing host to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Or, in professional football...never mind.

“No other cabinetmaker can claim to be Cleveland’s own,” Tony insists.

Fast delivery is just one of the advantages of having your cabinetmaker of choice located right here in Northeast Ohio.

“With more than 50,000 cabinets at our Bedford Heights warehouse at any given time, we hold the largest inventory in the area,” Tony says. “That means you don’t have to wait weeks to get your cabinets delivered. We can even get them to you in a day or two if needed. If there is ever a problem, like a piece that needs to be replaced, we’re just a few miles away, so your project won’t be delayed.”

Like having direct access to the world’s largest fresh water system, it’s another benefit of living in Cleveland.

And, because local homeowners and real estate investors can deal directly with their cabinetmaker, they eliminate the costly middle-man when they write the check.

“High quality and quick availability at affordable prices is our secret sauce,” Tony says. “When we started the company, we were one of the first to develop all-wood cabinets with high-end custom features at prices that give the big box stores a run for their money. The major manufacturers are selling particleboard cabinets, but will offer an upgrade to wood at a significant up-charge. Our cabinets are made from the best quality materials in the industry at a low price point. They have all the features you would expect from a premier line of cabinets. They are made to last a lifetime. And they are gorgeous.”

Choice Cabinet offers two lines of products. Its Select line, Tony says, includes top-quality cabinets that make welcome additions to many high-end homes. The Essentials line of cabinetry is ideal for apartments, rental homes and homes that are going to be flipped.

Kitchen design, Tony says, is another area where Choice Cabinet stands out from other cabinet providers in the area.

“What happens way too often is people go into a big box store and talk to a person who is called a designer,” he says. “Unfortunately, most of them are not sufficiently experienced to transform and create gorgeous kitchens, or how to think outside the box to most efficiently use space. Choice Cabinet will provide computerized design renderings by one of our experienced designers on staff.”

“This is what you would normally expect to get at a high-end custom kitchen dealer, where you are going to pay two to three times as much,” Tony shares. “What you will find in our new showroom are multiple displays that show our ability to create custom looking kitchens using cabinets from our warehouse inventory.”

The new Warrensville Heights showroom, which opened last fall, shows off Choice Cabinet’s latest colors and door styles, says Jessica Ricard, product and quality manager, and Tony’s daughter.

“We’ve added a large variety of white door styles because of the popularity and high demand,” Jessica says. “We’ve also added multiple grays, which is another growing trend for kitchens.”

And, she says, Choice Cabinet is now offering granite countertops.

You can start your project with a visit to the brand-new Choice Cabinet showroom, located at 4856 Richmond Road, in Warrensville Heights. The showroom is open Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday, from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., Thursdays from 9:00 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. You can find more information by visiting ChoiceCabinet.com.