May 24—FAIRMONT — Fairmont Kitchen Center celebrated new ownership with a ribbon cutting ceremony on Tuesday.

Owner Chip Merritt and his sons Levi Merritt and Brad Merritt, who are also owners at Fairmont Kitchen Center, started in Barboursville, West Virginia at Kitchens by Woody's and have run the business since 2008. The business grew from four employees to around 40 and they were looking to expand.

They decided on Fairmont instead of Columbus, Ohio to stay in West Virginia. They also liked that the Fairmont Kitchen Center was family owned and operated. The Merritts purchased the Fairmont Kitchen Center last year and have worked as owners for the past four months.

"We met with Trudy Anderson (previous owner) and her son, Ty, and they had a great reputation up here. They'd been here since 1964. It was family run and oriented, just like we are. So just the synergies were really good," Chip Merritt said.

Anderson and her father were the original owners. Now, Chip Merritt manages the showroom, Brad Merritt manages the operations, such as remodeling crews while Levi Merritt manages the sales team.

Brad and Levi said they have been able to make some changes to offer a larger variety of cabinetry.

"When we purchased this company, they offered Mountaineer Woodcraft, which is a completely custom line of cabinetry and a very nice line of cabinets. We still offer that, but we also introduced a new cabinet line, Medallion Cabinetry, to offer for a little more affordability in kitchens to the general public," Levi Merritt said.

Brad added that Medallion Cabinetry offers the same level of quality craftsmanship and installation. He also added that their team of employees has been great.

"I want to say thank you to the team, who's gone through the transitions. Things can be done the same way for a long time, then change comes and it's always hard. The majority of everybody here has accepted it with open arms and got on board to help us. ... The team here has been phenomenal, which has made the transition so much easier than it would have been," Brad Merritt said.

Levi Merritt agreed.

"The employees that we've been blessed with that we obtained when we bought the company are hands down phenomenal. So, we inherited a great group of people," Levi Merritt said.

The ceremony was in collaboration with the Marion County Chamber of Commerce. Marion County Chamber of Commerce President Tina Shaw said that the business' new ownership shows the store is worth investing in. Shaw said the new owners immediately joined the chamber and want to give back to the community.

"It's a gorgeous place and if anybody's thinking of redoing anything in their house, they need to come here. ... They wanted to see how they can give back to the community and that says a lot to us, when somebody does that," Shaw said.

Chip Merritt said the ribbon cutting ceremony was the first he'd been involved in, despite attending several ribbon cuttings. He said theirs exceeded his expectations and he was happy with the turnout. His sons shared similar sentiments.

"We're feeling excited. This is awesome. The support from the community has been incredible. Getting to drive around and see the beauty of this area has been awesome. The quality of the people here have been great and everybody's made us feel at home," Brad Merritt said.

The Fairmont Kitchen Center specializes in kitchen and bath items for remodeling or new construction. Chip Merritt said everything is done in-house from cabinetry to plumbing to lighting.

"We can set the tone and set the standard for how we want it done and so forth. Nothing gets done unless it meets our approval of our quality," Merritt said.

For more information, visit the Fairmont Kitchen Center Facebook page, their website or call 304-366-2255.

Reach me at sshriver@timeswv.com or 304-367-2549.