Southbury Kitchens Celebrates

Its New Culinary Shoppe

By John Voket

For nearly three decades, Wayne Grabowski has been designing, and when necessary, rolling up his sleeves and installing, some of the fine kitchen cabinetry, countertops, racks, and sinks that are now on display and available through Southbury Kitchens in Union Square on Main Street South.

The local firm, which is managed and staffed by Wayne and his wife, Lorie, has provided hundreds of clients with guidance, planning, and installations of various cabinet lines, high-end appliances, and accents — even an occasional bathroom, bar, or entertainment center, when requested.

But now, after five years in business for themselves focusing on designing spaces in which to put pots, pans, dishes, cutlery, and accessory appliances, Southbury Kitchens is celebrating the grand opening of a subsidiary that will furnish those items to their clients as well.

The Grabowskis’ latest venture, The Culinary Shoppe, will hold an open house October 23 from 3 to 7 pm, and the public is invited to come in and see the former Newtown couple’s latest offerings. The event will feature one-on-one advice from kitchen cabinet, countertop, and appliance product reps, door prizes — including a sturdy Viking oven roasting pan, German-made Viking cutlery, Polish glazed pottery, and a hand blender —and refreshments including a fresh smoothie bar.

Before the couple set out on their own just five years ago, Wayne utilized his expertise for other design firms, published several home improvement articles, appeared as a kitchen design expert on HGTV, and was chosen to design the entire kitchen for the Southern Living Idea House in Charleston, S.C., in 2005.

“After Wayne came back from Charleston, which was almost a one-year assignment on the Idea House, we decided there was a niche to be filled in this area,” said Ms Grabowski, who at the time was living in Newtown. “We basically got started by asking our vendors what was selling in the region, and outfitting our showrooms with what we knew were the most popular designs.”

Along with just a handful of exclusive contractor partners who stand ready to complement Mr Grabowski’s work with carpentry, electrical and plumbing expertise, the couple remains busy either outfitting new homes or redesigning kitchen spaces for existing clients.

“We maintain a very short list of partner contractors, some of whom we’ve worked with for more than 15 years,” Ms Grabowski said. “That way we can maintain tight quality control.”

Southbury Kitchens offers midline cabinetry from Cabico of Canada and the US-made Decora lines, as well as upscale woodwork from Signature Custom Cabinetry of Pennsylvania and Stylecraft. Custom millwork is also available.

“We provide medium to high-end product lines, but don’t be misled by the displays in our showroom,” Mr Grabowski said. “It may all look like high budget, but we pride ourselves on accommodating most budgets.”

For most of their clients, the inclinations to venture from the conventional are few and far between.

“You know, we say if the kitchen fits the house, it’s timeless,” Mr Grabowski said. “It will look good the day it is completed, and it will still look good 20 years from now.”

As far as details, the Grabowskis are seeing a lot of single bowl sinks with pull-out sprayers, some secondary beverage centers, as well as special attention being paid to customized lighting, flooring, and color coordination.

“We’re doing a lot of white kitchens with different colored islands, like black, blue and green, coordinated to some of the accent in the countertops and backsplashes, and accessories,” Ms Grabowski said.

Their decision to open the Cutlery Shoppe subsidiary was not an impulsive one, according to the couple.

“We’d been thinking about adding these product lines for a couple of years now,” Ms Grabowski said. “But don’t come in looking to choose from eight different kinds of undercounter can openers.”

As authorized dealers for Viking appliances, and now, accessories, SubZero, Wolf, Le Creuset, and the Polish pottery line Ceramika Artystyczna, the Grabowskis believe they now have the ability to provide a complete turnkey kitchen design experience.

For more information, visit southburykitchens.com or call 203-264-4800.