Business Booms Despite Pandemic
In the short span of 16 months, bathroom remodeling company Bath R Us has gone from a fledgling start-up to an institution. It began with one employee (owner Chad Howman) and has grown to more than 40, with nine service trucks and has just moved to a new headquarters in Medina. The family-owned and operated company began in Cleveland in March of 2020, then expanded into the Columbus, Toledo, and most recently the Cincinnati market.
“Last year on March 10, I was sitting by myself in a Chicago hotel room poring over all the materials about bathroom renovation from training with a company whose products
I was interested in,” says Howman. “I had just left my last job, it was my 40th birthday, I turned on the news and it
was announcing the shutdown due to Covid. Not the best timing, right? Yet, I decided to move forward. I believed in serving the niche of luxury bathroom renovation with
ultra-durable products that are affordable and beautiful.” Chad Howman founded Bath R Us in March of 2020 to fill a much-needed niche—homeowners who want the luxurious look of marble, quartz, granite, and subway tile, but don’t want to (or can’t) pay a contractor $40,000 to get it.
Since that less-than-ideal launch date, the formula has proven to be a smashing success, transforming more than 700 bathrooms in the Cleveland and Columbus areas and expanding their business to the Toledo and Cincinnati areas. Chad and his wife, Stephanie are proud to have built a team of employees, especially during these challenging times.
“Everywhere you look you hear about the labor shortage and businesses that are suffering and just trying to stay open due to lack of good employees,” says Chad. “I feel blessed to have a fine group of people working here, with more apprentices joining us
all the time once they hear this is a rewarding place to work.”