Built from the ground up, one customer at a time
“It took a lot of work and a lot of time,” Steve Issis says of the early years. “I met a lot of great folks who helped me along the way.” His father believed in earning your way and always doing right by the customer, and the company still works that way. Two of Steve's nephews and his sister work in the business, alongside many long-term employees.
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The beginning
Door to door and the flea market
After graduating from Ensley High School in 1979, Steve Issis started building a flooring business, going door to door and selling at the local flea market.
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1981
The first store in Pelham
His father, Odeh Issis, who came to the United States from Jerusalem in 1950, helped him open the first storefront in Pelham: 1,000 square feet and a staff of two, doing all the hands-on work themselves.
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Growing
More than 100,000 square feet
The Pelham store kept growing into what we believe is the largest carpet and oriental rug showroom in Alabama, at more than 100,000 square feet.
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2000
Highway 280
Customers asked for a store on the Highway 280 corridor, so we opened a 22,000-square-foot flooring gallery in Greystone.
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2008
The Furniture Gallery
At the suggestion of the designers we work with, we opened Issis & Sons Furniture Gallery at Cahaba Valley Road and Highway 119 in Pelham, adding furniture, drapes and accessories so customers could have everything under one roof.
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Today
Three galleries, one family
Two flooring galleries and a furniture gallery serving the Birmingham area, with members of the Issis family still working in the business.