Something for everyone

By Lauren Alvey
Oceanside Abbey Carpet is celebrating their 55th anniversary this year. Current owner Chuck Ward acquired the business in 1993 and since 2003 he has quadrupled their sales! Chuck credits Oceanside Abbey Carpet's strong reputation of high quality craftsmanship already established. It was by maintaining this quality and bringing in well-respected contractors that he attributes the business' recent success. He advises that in business it is also always good to have a five-year plan mapped out. With Oceanside Abbey Carpet this is how he has been able to attain the stability they have today.

“Survival” he claims, “is the new success story"

Oceanside Abbey Carpet currently employs 17 people and the crews they work with have been with them, on average, for 14 years. Chuck holds loyalty in high regard, and it shows in the loyalty of those he continues to work with today

The loyalty of our customer base has been our success” he says. When the economic depression hit it took Oceanside Abbey Carpet a little longer to realize and act on the changes in the industry. What kept them afloat? “It really was Mom and Pop coming in to fix up their family room or for other small projects”. The jobs they took on went from large and complex to more modest; but now commercial business is increasing steadily – all thanks to the community of Oceanside. 

It's not surprising then that Oceanside Abbey Carpet is a strong supporter of the local community from the Oceanside golf course, the museums to the local Rotary Club. Chuck says one of their favorite ways to support the community is by donating red carpet runners to the local pageants. They are more than happy to do so for any local business who wants a splashy event - “Everyone loves rolling out the red carpet!”

In 2008 they were able to move to a new location and purchase a 5,000 sq. foot showroom. This allows them to stay up on the newest innovations and trends. Having a warehouse on-site gives them the ability to control everything that goes in and out. They not only have a great selection of carpet, tile and hardwood, but even a section just for smaller samples for those less demanding projects – like cat scratch posts. 

“We try to be something for everyone”