Denver businessman Larry Broderick has invested $2 million and more than two years into developing the Grandeur line of door hardware.
The vintage-style doorknobs and levers, doorplates and deadbolts are designed for use in custom homes. The various lines carry names such as Grande Victorian and Windsor.
Display boards began going into decorative showrooms in Colorado and the West this month as part of a three-tiered nationwide rollout that began early this year. The high-end product will not be available at mass merchandisers like Home Depot.
“Every order is a special order. The customer mixes and matches what they want,” Broderick said.
He said the target market is custom-built traditional homes such as colonials, Tudors and Georgians.
Nostalgic Warehouse manufactures the Grandeur line. Broderick bought the company in late 2001 and moved its operations from Texas to Denver. At the time, Nostalgic sold only door hardware meant for use in the restoration of older homes.
“We realized the restoration market was going to be pretty small,” Broderick said. “We wanted to go to a larger market.”
He and his team – which includes his brother Tim as vice president of sales and marketing – set out to create a more modern line of hardware that was elegant and easy to install.
“So far, it’s going well in terms of placement in showrooms,” Tim Broderick said.
Trade magazine promotions are aimed at architects, interior designers and consumers. Eventually, catalog and Internet sales will follow.
Prices range from $45 for a doorknob without a latch to as high as $230 for a lever handle, doorplate and deadbolt.
Broderick also owns The SteelWorks, based in Denver, but he found a Chinese factory that could make the hardware. The parts are shipped from China and assembled locally.
Door levers are solid brass. Door knobs are forged from solid brass, crystal or porcelain and then hand- polished. Each piece of equipment comes with a lifetime warranty.
The reception for Nostalgic’s Grandeur line is positive so far.
“They have great stuff,” said Bubba Meyers, owner of Trinity Custom Homes outside San Antonio. “I probably won’t sell a lot of this stuff because it’s pretty pricey. But for an upper, higher-end project, it works real well.”
He said installation is easy and the product support is excellent.
Dan Kaatz, co-owner of Denver Hardware, said competition is tough with well-established manufacturers such as Baldwin, Emtek and Omnia.
“These guys have an edge over Baldwin mechanically. Having a spring assisting every lever keeps them crisp, keeps them from sagging,” Kaatz said. “Whoever is making their stuff is doing a nice job.”
Broderick is planning for aggressive growth at Nostalgic, which has 25 employees and about $3 million in annual sales. He thinks he can more than triple revenues in three to five years and possibly have as many as 100 workers.
“The initial indications, in terms of sales … are that we are going to be fine.”
Staff writer Steve McMillan can be reached at 303-820-1695 or smcmillan@denverpost.com.
