Meet Gregory Radionov of Master Cabinets Company in San Fernando Valley

Today we’d like to introduce you to Gregory Radionov.

So, before we jump into specific questions about the business, why don’t you give us some details about you and your story.
Our family is from Kiev, Ukraine. Our journey to US started back in 1979, when my parents decided to immigrate to USA. All paperwork was done, but… Afghan war started and Iron Curtain went down. Tens of thousands of families from USSR were refused immigration by Soviet state, and our family was one of them. My parents lost their jobs, they were considered “traitors”, so they had to start over looking for entry level positions, struggling to make ends meet. Little by little life went to normal (as far as it could be normal for Jewish would-be-refugee in communist state at that time) I went to Art Academy and graduated with Master Degree in Mural painting. Then came 1995, when we were informed that we are once again eligible to immigrate to USA. My parents were 52 at the time, and I was 26, newly married to the most beautiful girl, who went to Medical School in Kiev. Nevertheless, we decided to take our chance, and December 21, 1997 my parents, my new wife and I stepped down the Los Angeles soil. We were naive, scared, almost no English, yet full of hope and eager to work. For next 10 years we were working our ass off. My father and I started cabinetmaking business, my wife passed board exam and became Registered Nurse, my mother found work in Fastener Technology factory where she is still working as engineering assistant at 71 (and doesn’t want to quit). We have two boys 12 and 14, who help me out in the shop on summer break.

We registered our business in City of LA in 1998 under name “21st Century Atelier” (my mom had a thing for French names at the time), and we started as refinishing and restoration business. We worked in that area for a couple of years until we realized that new cabinet work has way more potential. At that time, we changed the name to Master Cabinets Company and have been building cabinets until this day. We don’t specialize on one area. Our background allows us to take on very different tasks, we do simple things like closets and garage organizers and at the same time we work on wall and ceiling paneling, entertainment centers, or unique china cabinets. We don’t outsource. Everything done from scratch in the shop, and our customers love us, we have almost 100% return customers. As a matter of fact, after 20 years in business we do very little advertising (yelp and one Russian local newspaper) and we are very busy.

On a side note, I did not give up painting, I paint every night after work and participate in local and national art shows. Got some awards and prizes too.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
Of course the road hasn’t been smooth. Some years brought serious challenges, like when housing market crushed, and there was virtually no mill working jobs at all. We went door-to-door giving flyers and taking any possible work: fixing chairs, building fences etc. It took us 20 years to become a NAME people trust, because every customer is satisfied, that is our goal. Word of mouth saves us in difficult times and gives us peace of mind, that we will overcome any economic downfalls.

Please tell us about Master Cabinets Company.
We build cabinets. What sets us apart is our flexibility. Unlike many companies we don’t specialize only on kitchens, or closets or retail fixtures. We can do many things. However, there is one thing we cannot do: so-so quality. That is why we are not the cheapest cabinet shop. We stand behind our craftsmanship. We are old fashioned family business, which is more and more rare subject in today’s economy.

If you had to go back in time and start over, would you have done anything differently?
We’d probably get bigger shop. Sometimes we have so much work, we cannot handle it in existing workspace. Being small has advantages, and has shortcomings too…

Pricing:

• Our basic cabinets start at $160 per linear ft, this is very competitive price.
• Our installation day costs only $560 for two workers. This is less than plumber charges.

Contact Info:

• Address: 9710 Owensmouth Avenue, Ste B
• Website: www.mastercabinets.com
• Phone: 818 426 0526
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/master-cabinets-company-los-angeles

Image Credit:
Gregory Radionov and Vladimir Radionov

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