By Myles Ma
For nearly 50 years, Regent Floor Covering has been owned by a Rossi. Felix Rossi opened the store in 1963, and his son Joseph took over in 2000.
But current co-owner Joseph Rossi gives all the credit to his staff, including Russell Vizzini, sales manager, who for five years has been in charge of the sales team and showroom, and co-owner Jay Kuti, who manages and oversees the tile and remodeling work.
“Without the team that we have, there is no me or my dad,” Rossi said. “Not when we’ve grown to this size.”
When Regent Floor Covering opened, it had three employees. Today it has 20.
Rossi said the store’s reputation has had a big hand in its growth. According to Rossi, the quality of his products and the service of his employees keeps customers coming back.
Regent Floor Covering handles all sorts of floor work, from installing carpet to a number of different floor materials, including vinyl, hardwood and laminate. But the store’s services have grown to include kitchen and bath remodeling, carpet cleaning and window treatments.
“Really what we do encompasses your whole home,” Christina Hughes, operations manager, said.
Many people are unaware of these newer services, even long-time customers, who know Regent Floor Covering for its work with carpet, tile and wood. But Hughes said the company has long been edging toward the bathroom renovation business.
The company has finished vanities and fixtures for seven years, but Regent Floor Covering can complete an entire renovation for its customers.
“We can organize it for them,” Hughes said. “We can control the job for them.”
Regent Floor Covering doesn’t only work on homes. The company has done a lot of work for local schools, offices and pharmaceutical companies, including the Pennington School, the Chapin School and the Princeton Theological Seminary.
Rossi is local himself. He has lived in Pennington for the last 15 years.
Rossi has worked in the store since he was a 15 in 1982. He started out working in the warehouse and helped his father with installations.
He eventually moved to the showroom and finally to ownership, but his journey up the company ladder helps him relate to his employees.
“I have a basic understanding of everything that everybody does,” he said.
It was Felix Rossi’s dream to own his own business. He fulfilled his dream, and the way Joseph Rossi sees it, a big part of what he does is to realize his customers’ dreams.
Many customers praise Regent Floor Covering’s custom and high-end work. Rossi said the company’s workers are adept at overcoming challenges, like completing work on homes that need to be sold quickly or extracting water from flooded basements.
Rossi said Pennington customers have been especially gracious.
“Our customers are very nice and appreciative,” he said. “It’s a great community, it really is.”
Many Pennington residents can remember Joseph and his father from old jobs they worked on in the 1980s. Over the years, the Rossis, and their employees, have worked on many grateful customers’ houses.
“I get to help a lot of people with their homes,” Rossi said. “We get to realize a lot of people’s dreams.”
Regent Floor Covering is located at 7 Route 31 North. For more information, call (609) 737-2466, or go online to regentfloorcovering.com.
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