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The Beacon of the Stone Industry www.slipperyrockgazette.net
Block Tops Inc. Rocks the Golden State
August 2024 Vol. 30-08
Beginning with the California Gold Rush of 1848, then on to the Golden Spike Ceremony in 1869, proclaim- ing the completion of the First Continental Railroad, California was well on its way to being a growth machine due to agriculture, oil, and shipping revenues. People from all walks of life saw the enormous opportunities from this growing economic powerhouse, and Horace Greeley’s “Go West, Young Man” became the phrase of the day.
Now fast forward to the 1950s. Much of California had grown into a huge collection of cities and towns, linked together by free- ways and mass transportation. Aerospace,
by Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy No-Lift Systems and Block Tops Inc.
electronics and Hollywood, to name a few, had positioned the Golden State as the most progressive state in the union.
By the 1970s, lifestyles had risen to the point where creature comforts such as great food, fancy clothing and upscale homes with classy furnishings were in high demand. While natural stone quarried both domes- tically and in Europe did satisfy most life- styles, beautiful varieties of hardwoods logged in northern California, Oregon and Washington became vogue, especially in the
form of butcher block countertops, recalled Block Tops President Nate Kolenski.
“Seeing this demand in 1977, Block Tops Founder Damien Bates, who was probably the first craftsman in southern California to produce oak butcher block tops, built them for homes as well as restaurants. That was the company, and he added maple wood, later on. I’m not positive, but I think he bought a train car load of it!”
Kolenski joined the company in 1996, and currently shares the helm with CEO Vanessa Bates, the wife of now retired Damien Bates. This dynamic duo share the same business sense and ethics, and oversee the current facility (in its third iteration) in Anaheim, as
well as the second location in Sacramento, California. This expansion was partly due to adding engineered stone, solid surface and natural stone by year 2000, as well as the opportunity to increase its purchasing power and market reach. According to Kolenski, the two locations vary widely in market types.
“California is very, very big, and we do very well from Sacramento to the border and from Anaheim to the border, but we stay away from the central part of the state, because it is too difficult to get our guys there and back in one day, from either location.”
When asked about the market potentials of both locations, Kolenski explained that they are both important, and very different. “That’s a great question! The two markets are almost like two different states. The cus- tomers, the companies, the attitudes of the people, everything is different. Northern California is open, and close to the moun- tains and rivers, whereas southern California is very urban with beaches, higher incomes, higher home prices and a higher cost of liv- ing. One job can have a full slab island, then not too far away, there is somebody that’s financing the best look that they can get for the price. So the customer base there is all over the place. Some purchases are based on what the interest rate is. Then, to others, it doesn’t matter what the interest rate is. So the two are very, very different.”
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A Block Tops installer team from the Anaheim office moves a full size island into place with their No-Lift Cart.
Block Tops, Anaheim install crews