baker's frontier kitchens

Signs and kitchen cabinets may not seem to have much in common, but for one Batavia business owner, they are a perfect complement to each other.

Dan Ewing, who purchased Baker’s Frontier Kitchens in April of this year, has found a niche for his engineering degree that involves both. The Macedon resident owns a sign shop in East Rochester and has moved westward with ownership of the kitchen business at 8392 Lewiston Rd., Batavia.

“I liked the design aspect of engineering,” he said this week during an interview with the Batavian. “A friend of mine introduced me to Tim Baker, and I thought it was a good fit. (Baker and his wife) are just wonderful people. It’s very, very important to do business with people that have your same value system.”

That value system includes “high-quality cabinets at a very good price,” and taking care of the customer, he said. Whether he is designing a sign — with all of the specifications involved of font, color, size — or crafting a kitchen layout of cabinets, countertops, and perhaps even a matching vanity style for the bathroom — Ewing has found his calling.

He appreciates this area’s “buy local” attitude, and a steady supply of Candlelight Cabinetry products to meet that request. Manufactured in Lockport, Candlelight kitchen cabinets are featured in the showroom’s 20 kitchen displays with finishes of white, cherry, and rustic hickory. His staff can pick up and deliver cabinets, which saves on freight costs, and Frontier Kitchens has a good relationship with the manufacturer, Ewing said. Those are important benefits of the “buy local” presence here in Batavia, he said.

While the Baker’s part of the business name will go away, Ewing committed to retaining Frontier Kitchens and what the name means for this community. There will be some changes coming in the next few months, he said, including a new logo and signage along with a spruced-up exterior, a new phone system, computers, and an overhaul of the internal business system that “lets us serve the customers,” he said.

He has been quite pleased with a steady stream of orders, he said, and added additional staff positions of a delivery person and office manager. A revamped showroom and a new website and kitchen-in-progress are being designed. Frontier is even being prepped for its debut in TV commercials as part of a new marketing and advertising strategy.

“Everything’s in process right now,” Ewing said. “I took what Tim built … I’m very sensitive to taking care of customers while accelerating and enhancing the business. It’s been phenomenal; there are a lot of kitchens in process.”

He said that it’s about a 50/50 split between creating kitchens for new homeowners and renovating older ones, and all with a promise of “very reasonable pricing on a full custom kitchen.” Unlike other designers that charge for every single detail, Ewing provides free consultations, quotes, and printouts of design ideas, he said. A design project can include countertops, sinks and cabinets, and installation by local contractors.

When he’s not drafting a kitchen blueprint, Ewing is a “hardcore golfer” and enjoys fishing and boating in warmer weather, he said, and switches to hunting when the temperatures get cooler. He and his wife Safiye have two boys, Connor and Adam.

Hours are 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and evenings and weekends by appointment. For more information, go to bakersfrontierkitchens.com or call 585-343-0760.

A kitchen isn’t just for cooking anymore. A modern kitchen can be used as a gathering space, for entertaining guests, and much more.

Local Nothnagle Realtor Nancy Crocker weighed in on what makes a desirable kitchen in the home-buying market today.

“Today’s homebuyers have different desires in a kitchen than they did in the '80s and '90s," she said. "Living room and family room activities are merging into kitchens, making them a gathering place for family, a central work space or just an open area to pursue craft projects or even to simply entertain.”

Crocker has been in the real estate business for more than 35 years and with Nothnagle Realtors for the past 11. When it comes to what folks are looking for lately, Crocker said that having a versatile and open floor plan for kitchens has become a hit with recent homebuyers.

“Existing homes typically have a wall separating kitchens from dining rooms and other parts of the home but with a modern kitchen, those walls are removed and the room is designed in a less utilitarian way.”

Crocker cited larger windows, fewer and more user-friendly cabinets, soft lighting and sleek countertops as a few indicators of what a modern kitchen should look like.

“Improvements to kitchens are a major appeal to homebuyers and they certainly enhance the value of the home for sale,” Crocker said.

She suggested a few improvements for anyone interested in revamping their home to sell.

“Modern, eye-appealing kitchens and bathrooms are major wants of almost every homebuyer,” she said. “If a seller wants to make a worthwhile investment, they should consider a few improvements.”

A kitchen island that has functional benefits but also provides space for entertaining, informal dining and extra storage. Crocker said that buyers are attracted to size-appropriate islands that are consistent with existing décor in the kitchen.

Crocker maintained that any seller can make a good investment in his or her property by updating their kitchen and/or bathrooms.

“A serviceable, eye appealing and updated kitchen is high on the list of most people looking to buy their home. A kitchen needs good strong bones which can be enhanced by updated countertops, hardware, flooring, cabinets and appliances.”

When you walk into the showroom of Baker's Frontier Kitchens, you step into an upscale, well-appointed kitchen. The wood cabinetry is beautiful and functional, the granite countertops gleam, you imagine how wonderful it would be if this was your kitchen.

Look to your left, and there is another fantasy kitchen with dark wood, a laminate countertop, an eye-catching faucet and next to that, another gem of a kitchen.

It is readily apparent that there are choices galore, with displays of drawer pulls, boxes of color samples, walls of wood choices and style treatments, and catalogs offering infinite possibilities -- from hickory to alder, Shaker to Tuscan, copper to wrought iron, Federal blue to lime green. Literally, there are 30,000 combinations to choose from.

But what sets Baker's Frontier Kitchens apart from other kitchen and bath remodelers is the technical prowess, expert craftsmanship and design offered by owner Tim Baker and his associate Lonnie Patnode. Tim has done nothing but kitchen and bath remodeling for 20 years, Lonnie for at least 15.

Each one takes a single job from beginning to end. That means the measuring (at no charge), planning, design, contracting, oversight and communication are handled from A to Z by either Tim or Lonnie. Personal accountability helps keep the details clear, the job smooth and the customer secure in knowing that there's only one guy in charge of the project.

Lonnie is the designated salesman, but he does not look, sound or act like one. Wearing jeans, sneakers and a button-up shirt, he takes a decidedly low-key approach.

"We don't go for the hard sell -- 'What do I have to do to get you to buy this today?'" Lonnie said. "Good designs and good products sell themselves. We don't hound people. People are spending a lot of money. They need to feel comfortable. We want to make friends."

The store has two lines of cabinetry, Homecrest, which offers stock sizes with limited customized products, and Candlelight, which offers standardized options, as well as unlimited custom possibilities.

"If we can dream and draw it, Candlelight can build it," Lonnie says.

ALL Candlelight cabinets, "down to the last screw," come from U.S. suppliers, including ones in Brockport and Attica. And their goods are built right here in Western New York.

Also, the installation crews are local contractors. If old cabinetry needs to be torn out and hauled away, the crews can do that. Or if a homeowner wants new lighting, tile work, carpet, wiring, painting, plumbing, heating or new windows, those services are available from the crews as well.

"We do the whole shootin' match," Lonnie said. "We do as much or as little as the homeowner want us to."

Some people just want the cabinets installed, but want to put in the appliances, sinks, etc., themselves to save money. Others have unlimited resources, or seem to.

Like one of Tim's customers, who just built a new house on Lake Ontario. It is supposed to be the last house she ever builds, so she wanted every detail to be top-notch. She personally flew to Vermont to choose the granite she wanted from the mining company. Lonnie said she spent close to $100,000 on just the kitchen.

On the other end of the spending spectrum, you can have a basic re-do for $2,000 to $3,500 for a small kitchen. If you add in granite countertops, lazy Susans, soft-close drawers, wine racks and other features for a medium-sized space, expect a price tag of $6,000 to $10,000.

A lot of times people have some idea about what they want, but no real vision or plan. You don't know, what you don't know, so to speak, but Tim and Lonnie do. They get a sense of your style, your tastes and the functions you need by talking with you, seeing the space and drawing rough sketches. Then, using computer-assisted drafting, they create a range of options to help you decide.

That's what Lonnie did for a client in Warsaw. He wanted dark, but not black, cabinets. He had stainless steel appliances and a gigantic kitchen with an 11-foot center island and a penchant for clean, modern lines and a contemporary ambiance.

Lonnie came up with a design featuring deep, eggplant-colored wood and cabinets with stainless-steel frames around panes of frosted glass. He took the same frames and created rectangular boxes attached above the cabinets so that they seemed to "float in space." These were lit with small, LED lights and when turned on at night, they glowed, displaying a real "wow factor."

If you are thinking about redoing your kitchen or bath, you can find out more on their website.

Even better, stop by at 8392 Lewiston Road in the Town of Batavia. Or give Tim or Lonnie a call at 343-0760 to schedule the first step in making your dream kitchen a reality.