R. R. Branstrom | Daily Press In the fabrication shop of Perk’s Cabinetry in Escanaba, Robert Day uses a staple gun while assembling a small cabinet.

By R. R. Branstrom

rbranstrom@dailypress.net

EDITOR NOTE: The Daily Press will be featuring a series of articles on local businesses, highlighting their history and what makes them unique. The series will run on a regular basis in the Daily Press.

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ESCANABA — Perk’s Cabinetry, with locations in Escanaba and Marinette, provides design and installation services for cabinets and surfaces in kitchens, bathrooms, offices and more. Their customer base, both residential and commercial, reaches through northern Wisconsin and across much of the Upper Peninsula. Owner Brent Krutina has been running the business since the early 2000s.

Years ago, Krutina had been working in construction when he began building cabinets in the winter as a way to maintain a line of work in the off-season.

“You couldn’t do construction in the winter, and I didn’t like to be laid off, so I just kept doing things, and (the cabinetry) got busier and busier and busier,” Krutina said.

He started Krutina Custom Cabinet Work around the year 2000. While it took some time to find a property with the power he was looking for, Krutina eventually found and purchased 822 1st Ave. N. in Escanaba, which had previously housed Hawkeye Archery and Manufacturing. The building was entirely gutted and remodeled to suit its new occupant.

Not long after founding his own business, Krutina went to Marinette to purchase some equipment from Forrest Perkins, the owner of Perk’s Cabinetry.

Perkins had started Perk’s in 1978. At one point in time, the business had three locations — in Marquette, Marinette and Escanaba. The Esky store opened at 720 Ludington Street under the management of Michelle Hazel in 1995.

By the time Krutina met Perkins, just the one Perk’s location over the border in Wisconsin (W1860 Hwy. 41 S. in Marinette) was operating. Krutina knew that the owner was looking to retire and sell, and after talking, he learned that Perkins did not yet have a buyer for the business.

Krutina said that he “drug his feet” a bit, and it took some time before both parties were ready, but he finally bought Perk’s Cabinetry. An open house was held in July of 2005 to recognize the merger. The Marinette store retained its name, and soon, Krutina Custom Cabinet Work was phased over to also carry the Perk’s Cabinetry name.

Krutina said that Perkins stayed on for a little while before retiring, and that the two remain friendly.

Today, Perk’s Cabinetry employs designers, fabricators, a bookkeeper and installers who all work to bring clients’ visions to life. Since their work is with part of a larger whole, at various points of the process they may need to work with homeowners, architects, contractors, plumbers, electricians, etc.

Some projects are new builds; others are remodels or refreshes. Perk’s completes jobs for homes, offices, hospitals, bars and restaurants.

Krutina said that it’s great to be able to speak with the end user when possible, but that it’s not always doable on large jobs.

“Perk’s has actually fabricated cabinets for all kinds of businesses. And it’s made me aware of different facilities and equipment and what it’s used for,” Krutina said. “Everything that’s built commercially has a purpose. So it’s more than just a cabinet. There might be a fold-down, or there’s something that you have to work around. And especially in the hospitals, you have to understand what all those things do.”

Most of the time, customers have an idea of what they’re looking for. Some come armed with photographs printed off Pinterest or notions seen on HGTV. Whatever the case, upon arrival at a Perk’s showroom, people have the opportunity to speak with designers and check out a large array of options. They can see samples of quartz, granite, laminate and solid-surface countertops; hardware in different brands, colors and patterns; wood with various stains and paint colors.

Kimberly Gould, with 16 years as a designer / kitchen and bath consultant at Perk’s, previous experience as a home designer with Stratford Homes, and a design degree from Northern Michigan University, is one valuable resource for those who step into Perk’s in Escanaba. She helps guide people’s plans, among other things.

“As soon as you get the job, then it’s basically making sure that everything will fit the space, will coordinate with the colors, will come in the time it’s supposed to come in,” Gould explained.

She and Krutina pointed out that since cabinetry is often one of the last elements in construction, there’s often a lot of pressure on them, especially if other parts of the process ended up more costly or time-consuming than the client expected.

New challenges arise that may be unique to a specific situation. For example, Gould said, a current project involves installing a moving ladder on rails in one residential kitchen in Marquette — a first for Perk’s.

Over the years, trends have come and gone. Krutina said that white-painted cabinets have been popular in recent years but are now dropping off. Accent pieces have been in vogue lately — instead of having trim, island cabinets and wall cabinets all match, it’s now common to see different colors for upper and lower cabinets or for cabinets and trim.

Krutina regularly attends national shows — “I like to stay on the leading edge of what’s going on in the cabinet industry,” he said — and having just returned from one in February, he’s looking forward to introducing new product to local customers.