Showcase Kitchens supplies and designs two of the most important rooms in a home, so it’s no surprise the family business has reached their 85-year mark and gone through four generations, with the fifth testing the waters. Throughout the 85 years, the business has evolved from a wrecking company, to a home improvement supply store in the late 1930s, to a specialized business that designs and manufactures exclusive custom kitchens, baths and more.
Started by father and son Joseph and Anthony Noto in 1933 in Brooklyn, Showcase Kitchens started out as a wrecking company that would knock down buildings, salvage materials like lumber, hardware and brick, and resell them. Because many were still struggling with the Great Depression, the salvaged materials proved to be a hot commodity as many could not afford to buy something new.
As client needs changed, Anthony Noto evolved the business into a home improvement supply store which sold windows, doors, new lumber and masonry in the late 1930s. Yet again, in the late 1980s, Showcase Kitchens changed, evolving into what it is today with John Starck Sr. and John Starck Jr. as the third and fourth generations of the family business.
“Now, we don’t just sell cabinetry,” said President and CEO Starck Jr. “We sell high-end appliances. We evolved also into working with really high-end tile suppliers and crafted tile materials. Those materials are high-end tiles for backsplashes, floors, bathroom tile, full turnkey bathroom or kitchen design. We pull together the entire material process. We will work with the homeowner and we also work with the design and professional trade like interior designers, architects, builders, contractors, as a part of the team. If the homeowner has the mindset of do-it-yourself, they can come in here and we can help assist them with everything.”
Starck Jr. moved the business to Manhasset about 25 years ago when he and his wife bought a home in Manhasset and started their family.
“Living and working in the same community has its challenges, but at the same token, it’s been very rewarding because I can walk down Plandome Road and know half the people in town,” said Starck Jr.
Today, Starck Sr., Starck Jr. and his brother, Anthony Starck, work together to continue the success of Showcase Kitchens by following the words of Anthony Noto to “show up on time, do the right thing and always keep your word.” Recently, Starck Jr.’s daughter Brianna began working at the store in Manhasset on Saturdays, marking the fifth generation to work at the family business.
“I really love working there,” said Manhasset High School junior Brianna. “It’s really cool to see how amazing my dad is. I watch my dad with his clients and I just learn a lot from that.”
“It’s nice to come to work with your family every day,” said Starck Jr. “For a family to stick together in a line of work for 85 years, that’s an interesting statistic. That’s a tough one to beat.”
Also new to the business include the tile showroom located next to Showcase Kitchens, which allows the business to further grow and show future clients what Showcase Kitchens can really do.
“We’re growing into other parts of what we do,” said Starck Jr. “It’s interesting because it’s kind of parallel to how my grandfather evolved when you look back. Eighty-something years ago he evolved from a wrecking company to a supply company and he started supplying all these other things to meet client needs. We’re kind of doing that in a sense, but more in a designer/creative way; things that enhance the home. We’re doing things that make it more sophisticated.”
For the second time, Showcase Kitchens will be featured in an upcoming episode of NBC’s George To The Rescue, a syndicated NBC TV show where host George Oliphant and his team of contractors and designers rescue the homes of deserving people. Two years ago, Showcase Kitchens had created a brand new kitchen and powder room for a woman with stage four breast cancer. For this new episode, which begins filming this month, the Starck family will redo a kitchen and bathroom for a disabled man who purchased a home that is not ADA compliant.
Showcase Kitchens services the north shore at 1200 Northern Blvd., Manhasset, with a second location for the south shore at 5340 Merrick Rd., Massapequa. For more information about the 85-year-old business, visit www.showcasekitchensny.com.
