Gillespie’s Abbey Carpet & Floor
A Fairfield Fixture for Generations
Gillespie’s Abbey Carpet & Floor has evolved since it was created in 1934 by Bernard and Marcy Gillespie. Purchased by the Hoover family in 1975, the business is now much more than a flooring provider and maintenance company.
Owned and operated by the Hoover’s sons Monte and Craig since 2004 (son Steve left the business about a decade ago), what makes this business unique is that all jobs are managed by the brothers.
“We have great employees, but the oversight of all jobs, big and small, are by my brother and I,” says Monte Hoover.
In addition to a department that cleans and maintains the products it sells at a discount, Gillespie’s has a 6,000-square-foot showroom for its design services. In addition to floor coverings, it also provides window coverings, wall tiles and countertops. It also has a plant designated for cleaning furniture and area rugs.
Gillespie’s provides free design estimates, and 90% of its installers are in house and employees of the company not subcontractors.
Soon after the Hoover’s purchased the company in 1975, it entered the fire and water restoration field.
“We offered emergency services, mitigation and rebuilding structures,” Hoover recalls. “But we divested ourselves from emergency services and restoration to open a showroom for planned remodeling versus stressed or forced remodeling.”
This was not an easy transition, as restoration was Gillespie’s primary source of revenue prior to the brothers taking over the business.
“When my parents retired, my dad was a project manager for rebuilding homes after fires,” Hoover says. “I started helping out with these projects before they left and, after I rebuilt five houses, I told him I didn’t like doing it. We wanted to expand to more planned remodeling.”
It took the brothers three years to exceed the restoration revenue.
The company also went through a trying time during the Great Recession, but was able to make it back stronger on the other side and has been enjoying record sales year over year ever since.
Hoover notes that the Fairfield-Suisun Chamber has been beneficial to the company and to him as a businessman.
“As Chamber members, we’re connected to the community, and I believe our company is only as strong as our community,” Hoover says.
Although Gillespie’s had its original ribbon cutting for the Chamber in 1975, Monte Hoover didn’t seriously become involved until 2003. He has served as an ambassador, was Chairman from 2015 to 2016, and currently remains on the board for his second term.
“This provides an invaluable opportunity to expose our brand and name to the business community as well as the Fairfield community as a whole,” Hoover says. “What I really gain from the Chamber is an opportunity to engage with our local leaders, including city, county, state and even federal. That’s something that’s not easily attained on your own.”
Hoover notes that the Chamber has enabled Gillespie’s to expand its brand in the community by connecting the company to organizations, whether non-profit, political or other businesses.
“Many who join the Chamber think they’ll immediately get a return on investment, and I explain to them the opportunities will happen but it takes time, diligence, commitment, engagement and, most of all, showing up. You need to practice what I call the 4 C’s Connect, Communicate, Collaborate and do it Consistently” Hoover says.