After 35 years of working as a tile installer, Dennis Davilla had found himself in semi-retirement. When a knee replacement in January 2019 required him to find new employment, the 53-year-old Hollister resident decided to use his expertise in a different way.
“I figured, ‘Let me open up a retail store—something that I know about,” Davilla said.
So in July 2019, Hollister Floors and More opened at 491 Tres Pinos Road.
Davilla, along with his wife, Judy, 56, and their three children, moved to Hollister nearly 20 years ago. Davilla learned firsthand how difficult it was to find the supplies needed to do installations.
“When I was installing tile, I would have to drive to San Jose or Gilroy,” he said. “You’d basically have to leave Hollister to get anything that you needed, as far as materials and a lot of things. I just wanted to open up a retail store for local tile contractors and homeowners. I just wanted to make it easier.”
The store is now open Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (8 a.m.-9 a.m. for contractors), and Saturdays 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Since opening two years ago, the store has grown from 3,200 square feet to 8,000 square feet—enough space for a showroom and the store’s extensive inventory.
The two-year-old business is currently being run by Davilla’s family: Judy handles the finance portion of the business on top of working full-time as the key account manager with Allied Electronics and Automation; Dennis and Judy’s daughter, Melissa, works on Saturdays at the store; their son-in-law Mike Dehn installs the flooring; and Judy’s niece, Nina, runs the front desk full-time.
“It’s a family business,” Davilla said. “It’s very helpful. I’m more in sales—in and out of the store doing estimates and stuff.”
While the store sells to a lot of tile contractors and customers doing home projects, Hollister Floors and More also provide floor installations. Customers can call or come into the store to arrange an appointment for an estimate.
“I’ll measure the square footage, and then you will get an estimate from us and it will be itemized on what we’re doing, start to finish,” Davilla said. “We do use subcontractors on stuff like the hardwood floor installations.”
Judy added, “We love serving the people of Hollister, and people are really happy that we have a showroom like this because then they don’t have to leave town. And a lot of people would rather buy in Hollister than leave. They want to support the locals.”
“I tell customers to go to Blue Ribbon or Pinnacle Flooring for certain things that we can’t provide, just to keep it local,” Davilla said.
Hollister Floors and More uses vendors such as M.S. International for its countertops, flooring, backsplash tile and hardscaping. New lines of flooring have also been brought into the store. B.R. Funsten and Tom Duffy supply the store’s laminate, vinyl and engineered hardwood. Selections vary from engineered, unfinished 3/4 solids, to prefinished floors.
It also displays a variety of faucets, sinks, shower doors, and prefab countertops, as well as tile, vinyl and laminate flooring.
“We sell installation supplies like thinsets, caulkings, sealers, adhesives, vinyl installation tools—the tools you need to do it yourself,” Davilla said. “And we have everything for contractors from staples all the way up to levels. Everything that we have in stock will be out on the shelves, and all the pricing is there.”
The Davillas also make customer satisfaction a No. 1 priority when they assist others with home projects.
“If there’s something a customer has a question about, or has an issue with, then we will be more than happy to go and help them out,” Davilla said. “Just to kind of get them going, or maybe give them some advice—at no charge.”
For customers needing assistance on choosing hardwood floors, Judy said they can check out large hardwood board samples to take home.
“We say ‘take it home, because it may look different at home with the lighting,’” she said. “There are little samples that people can take home, but with the bigger boards customers can see and visualize better than the little ones. So we allow people to check them out.”
Davilla also said that products can be delivered to customers in emergency situations.
“I don’t have any issues with giving my cell phone number out,” he said. “Call me, I can leave my house. Even on a weekend or on a Sunday; We’re very flexible. We’re a family business, we just want to treat everybody like family.
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