BY TRACY AGNEW/SUFFOLK NEWS-HERALD
Tracy.agnew@suffolknewsherald.com

SUFFOLK— After 83 years, a family-owned business that has long been a denizen of Norfolk, Chesapeake and Virginia Beach has found its way to Suffolk.

City officials joined company executives and staff for a “board-cutting ceremony” Saturday at the newest Taylor’s Do-it Center location on Bridge Road. The company’s 10th store will feature a selection of lawn and garden, hardware, plumbing, electrical, paint and other home improvement needs.

“We’re really excited about being in Suffolk,” company president and chief executive officer Joe Taylor said. “We’ve wanted to come over here for a couple years.”

Taylor’s grandfather, Robert Taylor, founded the business with four partners in 1927 as Fuel, Feed and Building Supplies. The five men pooled their money to come up with $1,750 in capital to start the business.

“They were on 17th Street in Virginia Beach when it was a dirt road,” Joe Taylor said Saturday.

The company now has grown to include 10 stores in two states and still practices the same principles of honesty, hard work and convenience. Its number of stores has doubled in the last eight years.

“This community really had a need for a hardware store,” Taylor said. “We saw a real good opportunity here.”

The company celebrated the store’s grand opening with a board-cutting ceremony rather than a ribbon-cutting ceremony. City and company leaders took turns cutting an orange-painted plank of wood in two with a handsaw.

Taylor also pledged the company’s commitment to supporting school and community groups.

“Suffolk is a natural progression from Norfolk and Chesapeake,” Taylor said. “This size store is a little bit smaller than our other stores, but we have a nice outdoor garden center.”

The garden center will sell plants in the spring and cut Christmas trees during the holiday season, as well as year-round necessities. Inside, the store includes grills, housewares and an entire paint section.

“Signing the lease for our new store is a key milestone for our business,” Taylor said.

Taylor’s Do-it Center joined Do it Best Corp., a home improvement industry buying cooperative, in 1991.