A Garage in 1983
Vince Nardo Sr. was a finish carpenter who got tired of tearing out cabinets that didn't need tearing out. In 1983 he rented a two-car garage on Lincoln Avenue, bought a used table saw, and started offering neighbors "new kitchen, old boxes" — which everyone told him was a gimmick that wouldn't last.
Thirty-four years, three buildings and eleven thousand kitchens later, the gimmick employs 26 people. Vince's sons run the company now: Vince Jr. handles the shop and Anthony handles everything with a phone attached to it. Vince Sr. still comes in Tuesdays to argue about hinge suppliers, and he is usually right.
What We Believe (the Short Version)
- Employees, not subs. Every installer, builder and estimator is on our payroll. It costs more. It's worth more.
- The estimate is the price. Games with "manager discounts" are why people hate contractors. We gave that up in the 90s and never missed it.
- Fix it fast. Things go wrong on job sites. What matters is whether the same week fixes them.
- Don't sell what they don't need. Talking a customer down from a $14,000 job to a $900 one is the cheapest advertising we've ever bought.
The Crew
Average tenure at Reborn is over nine years. Manny, our senior installation foreman, hit twenty-one years in March; the office got him a cake shaped like a cabinet door and he pointed out the reveal was uneven. Our newest hire is Vince Sr.'s granddaughter Gina, who runs the CNC and will not be taking questions about nepotism, thanks.
Where We Work
Orange County is home base. We regularly work in Los Angeles County east of the 605 and the western edge of Riverside County. Beyond that, it depends on the job — call and ask, the worst we say is "that's a long drive."