Santarossa Mosaic and Tile
Celebrating Almost a Century of Outstanding Work in the Central Indiana Region
by Peter J. Marcucci
Photos Courtesy Santarossa Mosaic and Tile Company
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The story of Santarossa Mosaic and Tile Company is the stuff both lure and legends are built of: A century’s worth of achievements fostered from one man’s dream—to come to America, think long, work hard and succeed while pursuing his chosen trade.
“I’m too young to remember my grandfather. He came from Italy to America in 1919 and ended up at Ellis Island,” explained Rob Santarossa, while reflecting on the past of his grandfather, Domenic Santarossa. “He had everything he owned in a bag: his clothes and tools of the trade. He didn’t speak any English either, which is amazing to me. While asking for directions to a home that took in immigrants, he briefly put his bag down, only to find it was gone moments later. So with only his knowledge and craftsmanship, he soon began working for a company in Chicago doing tile and terrazzo.”
One year later, just 9 years before the great stock market crash of 1929, Domenic Santarossa had moved to Indianapolis. Again, rolling up his sleeves, Domenic got to work. This time, however, he partnered with fellow tradesman, Louis Toffolo. The two friends worked side-by-side, taking on as many tile and terrazzo construction jobs as possible, while building a reputation for impeccable craftsmanship.
The company, still in its embryonic stage, incorporated under the name Santarossa Mosaic & Tile Company in 1924. Throughout the passing decades, both Carlos Toffolo (Louis Toffolo’s son) and Constance “Connie” Toffolo (Louis Toffolo’s cousin), also became partners. Led by Mario Santarossa as company president starting in 1970, this 2nd generation of trade savvy men, who possessed the wherewithal to perpetuate both the good name and reputation of the well established enterprise, continued the company leadership through even more decades and into the next century.
Unfortunately, all the Toffolo partners are now deceased along with Rob’s father, Mario, who just passed in December 2014.
In its current stage and 90th year, the company is owned and managed by 4 partners: John (President) and David Santarossa, who mostly oversee the commercial end; Rob Santarossa, who oversees residential and fabrication; and David Saylor, field superintendent.
“To Build the Best Finished Products From the Finest Materials”
Adding stone fabrication during the early 1970s, Santarossa Mosaic & Tile currently features 2 showrooms—one in the original Indianapolis, Indiana location, the other in Carmel, Indiana at The Indiana Design Center. At any one time, over 4,000 slabs of exotic and premium slabs await the visitor in search of the finest residential and commercial creature comforts wrapped in natural stone. Both showrooms are fully staffed with sales and design personnel.
While all stone and precast terrazzo fabrication is based out of the original Indianapolis location—the Carmel location is “showroom only,” and where they stay fully connected to the design community, said Rob, adding, “It is very contemporary and staffed with interior designers that work hand-in-hand with local designers who serve that demographic.”
According to Rob, the company’s service spans the entire state of Indiana, and with the majority of work concentrated in the central region.
They occasionally do work in neighboring cities Cincinnati and Columbus, Ohio and Springfield, Illinois. “As a company we love to create things, anything from terrazzo and precast terrazzo, to mosaic, floor tile, slab or concrete. We have a niche we are serving with on the commercial end, and we are involved in some of the largest projects in the state including malls, airports and many types of corporate entities.”
Builders and homeowner are also a strong part of the company’s business, added Rob, while confirming that the biggest thing that makes the company stand out is their talent and creativity. “Even though we are an old company, when it comes to creating different things from stone, we continue to come out with new and exciting ideas that are cutting-edge. That’s why people come to us, and it really helps us exercise our creativity. People always look to us as being the best in the industry, and we are really proud of that. We love working closely with designers and architects, and their builders and home owners. Our motto has always been service, quality and workmanship.”
Santarossa Mosaic & Tile imports much of its materials from lands beyond the sea, but mainly Italy, according to Rob. Premium and exotics of 2-3cm granite, quartzites, marble and engineered stone is the norm for the company’s 70% residential-30% commercial production ratio. As needed, they also buy from 4 favorite local suppliers.
Production equipment consists of two bridge saws, a waterjet, two radial arm polishers and a milling machine. Digital templating facilitates transferring information used for waterjetting, while hard templates, mostly converted from E-Templating, are used for cutting. The company additionally offers ceramic bowls as well as custom made stone sinks for its discerning client. All fabrication and installations, including flooring, are performed in-house by the just over 100 employees.
“We are so very proud of the employees that have worked here for so many years. Their life is Santarossa, and we are so very pleased to have such loyal and talented craftsmen who have worked for us all these years. They have made us who we are,” said Rob.
Staying in the Black by Installing Green
Rob continued, “We are promoting our terrazzo as a green product, because we use local recycled materials to produce our terrazzo countertops and flooring. A few years ago we did a hospital in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Our terrazzo flooring was the greenest product in the whole construction job, because we used recycled materials, such as mirrors and headlight lenses and windshields off of cars as well as products destined for landfills that were repurposed into flooring. This particular project they wanted a really green product, and that was what we were able to provide. We don’t have a crusher, but we do have a tumbler that we mix all the different terrazzo chips in that we acquire from local recyclers. Ninty-five percent of the time, this is what we use.
“Another notable project we completed a few years back was the J.W. Marriott in downtown Indianapolis. That was a nice project for us with a lot of tile and marble slab work in the main lobby. We also did a lot of beautiful artwork at the Indianapolis International Airport, a bunch of mosaics out of terrazzo using our waterjet. They really stand out to the passersby.”
A Little Follow-Up Goes a Long Way
Rob also explained that the company does advertise on television, but it’s the word of mouth and nurtured relationships that keeps them busy. “We rely on client feedback and referrals—that is a huge part of our new and return business. What we do is meet with the client after the installation. If it’s the homeowner or the designer or whomever, if they can be there to review the finished installation—that’s the time that we want to address any concerns. We are always very, very concerned about the client having closure, and we want them to have a good feeling when their job is complete. So if there are any issues, we are quick to address it. We are proud of good follow-up and making sure that each and every client is happy.”
Santarossa Mosaic & Tile also offers supplemental service after the sale, especially for their larger projects, offering a maintenance program where they will refinish floors or countertops. “We do offer an annual maintenance contract for both larger residential and commercial projects to keep things looking their best. That’s something we try to stress, especially when it’s natural stone. Every once in a while they do need some refinishing to keep them looking wonderful. We’ve been doing it for many years, and we are one of the few shops in the area that’s been well received in this market.”
A Bright Future Etched in Stone
With several large-scale projects in the pipeline, Rob, unfortunately, couldn’t mention any until they were finalized. He did, however, confirm that business has been quite good and that they’ve steadily been getting busier over the last few years.
“I see the future being bright. We are very, very proud to have recently celebrated our 90th year in business, and our future includes staying on the forefront of ideas and technology. This is a priority. I’d also say that over the next 2 years we hope to improve our sales by ten percent and will continue to expand our presence and develop new markets by staying involved in the high-end commercial and residential arenas. This future may include a CNC machine and, additionally, more employees. Good people are also a priority. We like to train, and we are always looking for new talent that might be out there.
“Many of our employees have been with us for a long time. It is basically their life and trade, and many have their sons working here, so for us it’s been a family that we’ve created. My brothers and I are third generation, and we have a fourth generation of nieces and nephews that are now working for us as well, and we are looking forward to passing on the torch.”
Santarossa Mosaic & Tile is a long-time, happy Braxton-Bragg customer, and a decades-old charter member of the Marble Institute of America, National Terrazzo Association, National Association of Home Builders, and American Society of Interior Designers. For more information call the main location at 317-632-9494, the Carmel location at 317-580-1924 or visit www.santarossa.com.
