Spring 2021 Hardlines

CUSTOMER PROFILE

Doing Something Right Rufe’s Paint Store Offers Custom Paint Service

Bob Romero (left) and his brother Mike Romero (right) co-own Rufe’s Paint Store in Durango, Colorado.

R ufe’s Paint Store has been a fixture of the Town Plaza shopping center in the mountain town of Durango, Colorado, since 1960. The store not only serves the town of Durango, but the entire county into southwestern Colorado.

Bob Romero, who co-owns the store with his brother, Mike, says he estimates that their customer base is about 60 percent DIY customers. “We are a real custom paint store,” Bob Romero says. “We’re one of the few left in the country. We have product knowledge and we take care of people. We have a following and we’ve been here for a long time, so we must have done something right.” A Family Operation Rufe’s Paint Store is a small, family-owned business with just three employees: Bob, his brother and co-owner Mike and Mike’s son

Keith. The business was founded by Bob and Mike’s father—and the store’s namesake—Rufe Romero. Romero says he has been in the paint business since he was a child, although his official debut in retail took place in 1979. “My dad would have me come and work here when I wasn’t playing ball. I was an athlete and played every sport trying to keep active in school so I wouldn’t have to come in and work,” he says and laughs. “I worked a lot here. When I went to college and came back, I decided to stay in the area and raise my kids here because it’s a good place to raise a family.”

46 Spring 2021 • Hardlines Strategies

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