Business of the Week: All*Star Woodworking
After being in business for 25 years, Peter Cuneo has learned a thing or two about attracting new clients. Do quality work, view each job as a showcase for future business and the referrals will come.
Cuneo has grown All*Star Woodworking from a business that started out of a garage in Pleasantville 25 years ago to an operation that currently employs more than 25 workers, including carpenters, installers, cabinet makers and countertop specialists. It has become one of Westchester’s premier creators of custom cabinets.
As a teenager, this Pleasantville native always gravitated toward carpentry, even dreaming of running his own business one day. After graduating high school, he attendedPaceUniversityfor a year, but wasn’t interested in college life, finding the entrepreneurial dream a hard one to ignore.
His opportunity came while working as a carpenter with Mauro Scopino, the original owner of the company, which was known then as All Star Kitchens. Scopino offered him a partnership in the cabinet shop, and when Scopino retired several years later, he handed the entire operation over toCuneo.
Today,Cuneoand his business partner, Joe Hattendorf, operate All*Star Woodworking out of a 12,000-square-foot factory in Thornwood. They specialize in custom kitchens, custom cabinetry, cabinet refacing, custom built-in closets and countertops.
At one time,Cuneosold products that were made by other manufacturers, but decided to create his own factory where he could focus on creating one-of-a-kind products and where projects could be tightly controlled.
“I wanted to set up an operation where we could make extra parts if we had to, deal more efficiently with clients’ changes and finish projects in a timely manner,” he explained.
In the 1990s, he purchased more sophisticated cabinet-making equipment that allowed the company to do all sorts of custom-made products safely and accurately. That also helpedCuneoexpand his business to include not only cabinetry for the residential market, but also commercial clients where the company produces and installs wall and ceiling paneling, reception desks and bars.
In fact, All*Star Woodworking takes on every aspect of a project, from design to delivery to installation, and rarely uses subcontractors, Cuneo said, Some of his commercial clients have included the Dobbs Ferry Library and Benjamin Cardozo School ofLawinNew York City. He draws clients not only from Westchester butNew Jersey, southern Connecticut and New York City as well.
As a custom manufacturer,Cuneoexplained that all of the company’s products are made to order, which enables them to offer products in a wide variety of choices. For example, All*Star Woodworking offers hundreds of door designs and a choice from more than a dozen species of wood, with an unlimited choice of colors and finishes.
“Some clients come to us with a very specific idea as to what they want, even bringing architectural plans,” Cuneo said. The objective is to always produce a “beautiful product.”
In recent years,Cuneohas been increasingly involved in reclaiming aged lumber and wood from old barns throughout the northeast. He often travels as far north asMassachusettsto find the proper timber and then recycle it to create antique wood flooring, molding, stairs and fine furniture.
It’s a growing niche in the cabinet-making business as more consumers look for genuinely old wood that often has the kind of features that can only be bestowed by time, he said.
Cuneobelieves his company’s attention to service, quality and value have all combined to make All*Star Woodworking a successful and growing venture.
“There’s a lot of hard work involved in this business, but the results are often very special for both us and for our clients,” Cuneo said.
The company’s showroom, located at 401 Claremont Ave., can be viewed by appointment only. Call 914-769-9161 for more information or visit www.allstarwoodworking.com.
