PaintCLE brings together father, son at Benjamin Moore paint store in Willoughby Hills

Mar. 4—Ever since he retired from being in the office furniture business, Richard Warren and his son, Matthew Warren, have always talked of going into business together.

"We've been working on opening this store since the beginning of August last year," said Matthew Warren, who is now co-owner alongside his father and his mother, Anna Warren, of paintCLE in Willoughby Hills, which opened Feb. 17. "It was a little scary for us with (the coronavirus), but the home improvement industry as a whole is way up."

Located at 2747 SOM Center Road, paintCLE is not a franchise, but the first Benjamin Moore independent dealer for Cleveland in many years. Richard said that with the strength of Benjamin Moore, their company, the product and the Warrens' experience in business, the family decided to form the partnership. — Advertisement — "We reached out probably last May and we talked a few times, and it just sounded like a really good opportunity, especially because there really isn't other independent dealers here in Cleveland," Matthew said. "We have some competitive advantages. (Richard) made a lot of contacts in architecture design, so a lot of crossover. It made sense and we just kind of went for it."

The decision on the Willoughby Hills location stemmed from Benjamin Moore's help, Richard said. The store's territory will reach SOM Center Road to the lake and down to Cuyahoga Falls in conjunction with Benjamin Moore's retail search team.

Matthew describes this store as the "first phase" on this side of Cleveland.

"Cleveland is a very large area to cover, so we're focused from the lake down," Matthew said. "At this moment, we've got about five more stores planned."

PaintCLE will service the retail client, who is the homeowner and or do-it-yourselfers who want advice about paint or a project they're working with, Richard said. The store will also service a customer who is coming in to select paints for a project and who are using a contractor.

The commercial side will most likely be between 70% to 80% of the business, Matthew said.

"We can easily say we have over 4,000 gallons of paint and in addition to paint, we also carry sundries — the applicators you put paint on with — tarps, sealants, caulking, anything you'd need for a DIY or commercial," said Richard.

The store's big brush line and applicator line are made in Wooster, Ohio, and paints are American made and most of the products are also American made, Richard said. The store also has a small hardware section.

Matthew said the knowledge base and the team at paintCLE will be key competitive factors.

"The team we have here has a very extensive history in paint," Matthew said. "When we do education on the inside, a lot of it is technical for us. We can address issues that if you're walking to a big box store, they might not be able to help you."

Prior to paintCLE, Richard owned a company called Warren-Chaney Office Furniture, which was sold to OfficeMax roughly seven years ago.

"I think the nice thing about having a family business is that we're connecting on a different basis," he said. "We're connecting on not just a business basis, but we're working together to achieve a goal."

Richard says he's learning a lot from the process from his son, as well as learning things they wouldn't have otherwise shared.

"We've always talked about business because he's been around me and interested in what I was doing in business," Richard said. "Now, we've put those two things together and I think that's special."

"I think in a lot of family businesses, parents and children butt heads. While that has happened a little bit, I think the really nice thing is that the three of us have a common goal and a vision," added Matthew. "It's a really good feeling and I've learned quite a bit from my dad. I had learned quite a bit before that, but it's just because we're interacting through the business on a daily basis.

"We both bring different skills to the table, so it's nice we're able to mesh as well as we do."

Everyone who walks through the doors has a different story, Richard said. One person may come in and they just bought their first house, they're excited and they're going to pick out colors. At the same time, another person could walk in and their husband died, so they have to freshen up the home to sell it, he said.

Whether it's a church, a bar, a hair salon, color can evoke many emotions, which Richard said is the fun thing about the business.

"Something that I don't think people talk enough about is that paint, while aesthetically pleasing, is more than a color," Matthew said. "There are more aspects to it."

Josh Stewart, a staff member alongside Garret Graehling and Jason Olree, said there is a different feel working at a family business.

"It's nicer to feel like a better part of the community than just a number in a system," Stewart said, who came back to Lake County from South Carolina. "Family really brought me back. I have a 3-year-old son. There's always a draw to Cleveland. There's always a little heart string that's always pulled. There's better quality of life here. It's an opportunity to grow."

There is no set scheme or pattern when it comes to painting, said Olree.

"Of course there are things people tend to do, but you could really go crazy with it. You can really make it whatever you want it to be," he said.

Colors can also be a reflection of someone in many ways, said Graehling.

"A lot of people will say paint is paint, but it's really not," he said. "You get to express yourself with the colors you pick, with the different products you use and how you set your house up to be."

"When you paint anything, you're adding personality," Stewart added. "You're giving it a life. We're not all just grays, whites and beiges. There's a whole spectrum out there."

Richard said a strong customer base and getting the second store up and running with a solid customer base by the end of the year would be a large achievement.