On a cool afternoon on Denver’s High Street, inside a century-old bungalow, Sharon Shafer told the story of how her grandfather first came to America.
Giuseppe Giorgio made the four- month trip from Santa Ilaria, Italy, to Colorado in 1890 when he was 16 years old. He earned a living here by shining businessmen’s shoes in the lobby of the Equitable Building on 17th Street.
When Shafer visits that building now, she said, she can “just see my grandpa right there.”
To keep the family’s entrepreneurial spirit alive, Shafer and her husband, Anton, are self-described “angel investors.” They run a company called F.A.I.T. Homes, which stands for Family of Architectural and Interior Tradesmen. Their goal: to restore historic homes by preserving original character while updating them with modern amenities.
The Shafers operate the company, formed in 2005, along with their son, Tony; his wife, McKenzie; their daughter, April Schmidt; and her husband, Robert. They often conjure the memory of Giuseppe Giorgio as a role model for how they want to do business.
“He raised a family, bought a house, became an American, learned English (and) got his citizenship papers,” Sharon Shafer said. “Everything he did was by the book.”
The Shafers take as much pride in their shared business as they do in their family history.
“Our roots are here,” she said.
When selecting a home to rehab, the company looks for properties with distinctive details such as hardwood floors and period windows. During the restoration process, they add touches such as stained glass and porch swings for an even more historic feel.
The Shafers also establish official historic designation for the homes they restore.
They have completed seven projects so far in such areas as Washington Park, Park Hill and the Seventh Avenue Historic District.
Tony Shafer hatched the idea for the company in 2004. Around the same time, April was completing studies in interior design and Robert was wrapping up an undergraduate degree. No strangers to small business, the family already ran The Deck Co., which they founded in 1992.
Each family member plays a distinct business role in F.A.I.T. Homes. Tony is the architect, April does the design, McKenzie is the project manager and Robert is the construction manager.
“Each of us settles into what is our” job, Tony said.
Another distinction Tony makes between their company and others like it is that F.A.I.T. steers away from fix-and-flip projects. They try to put the emphasis on quality, he said, over making as much money as quickly as possible.
Clients are sometimes taken aback by how much work each family member puts into the homes.
“We get a lot of ‘You did that?’ or ‘We didn’t expect you to be doing that,’ ” April said.
The 1,389-square-foot bungalow on High Street, for instance, now features a new roof, a two-car alley garage, a refinished original clawfoot tub and a custom coffered ceiling. For F.A.I.T., historic restoration is a labor of love.
The family hopes to one day open branches in other cities to have a larger pool of old homes to choose from.
For now, the Shafer clan is just happy working together — despite the occasional spat. When they get to arguing, Sharon simply tells them to, “Quit it!” For this, Tony has dubbed her the family glue.
Mom’s feisty personality is what first attracted Anton to Sharon years ago, since he tends to be more quiet. Not only did Sharon bring her husband out of his shell, she also passed her outgoing nature onto Tony and April. That mean’s F.A.I.T. business meetings can turn into contests over who talks the loudest.
But they never tire of one another’s company. The family’s members live in Littleton within 10 minutes of one another and still “do everything together,” Sharon said, including vacations.
Working alongside her brood is the biggest business reward for Sharon, who grew up working in her own parents’ retail stores. “It’s fun being together,” she said.
Restoring small pieces of Denver history is also close to her heart, because a house can be more than bricks and mortar.
“Your memories are tied to it,” said Anton, who would drive by his parents’ house in north Denver when it was being torn down a few years ago and reminisce about sitting on the curb, waiting for his father to come home from work.
“People you loved lived there,” his wife concluded.
The family hopes those who live in their remodels wind up feeling the same way.
Jordan Dresser: 303-954-1503 or jdresser@denverpost.com
