Stewart's TV & Appliance is elevating the TV and appliance buying experience
By Patricia Nugent
Back in 1946, an ambitious young man named Dick Stewart had earned quite a reputation for fixing things. In fact, people from all over knew to take their broken radios to him at his parents’ home on Marseilles Avenue in Elyria.
Although only a few American families had yet to purchase the newfangled invention called the television set, Dick was already taking them apart and tinkering with them.
He listened to the growing number of folks who encouraged him to open his own shop and founded Stewart’s TV and Appliance.
Today, what was once a little shop on Cleveland Street takes up two floors and is home to endless galleries of appliances and televisions.
It’s run by four of Dick’s nine children—and people still come from all over. The super store is conveniently located just a half mile past the city line, and near major highways.
Anything and everything needed for your home is found here in products to meet any budget, from kitchen appliances (refrigerators, ranges, ovens, oven hoods, freezers, ice makers, dishwashers, microwaves, disposals, warming drawers, mixers, blenders, food processors), to laundry appliances, televisions, video components, speakers and outdoor grills.
Winning the Box Store War
“The appliance store experience has changed drastically over the past 73 years, and we’ve evolved along with it,” says Ed Stewart, who runs the store’s day-to-day operations.
“In the beginning, we competed with other regional appliance stores, but now most of those are out of business. Today we compete against big box stores.”
He says the ability to offer more models than a national chain store yet retain that local family-owned level of personalized service are the pillars of their success.
We know most customers by their first name,” he says. “And, in many cases, we have serviced several generations of the same family.”
His sister, Nancy, who runs the service department, agrees. She says her favorite part of the job is all the thanks she receives for their expertise and reliability.
If You Can Dream It...
To shine a spotlight on all the latest kitchen appliances, don’t miss the expansive demonstration kitchen downstairs.
Ed says trends are shifting toward finishes such as matte black, black stainless and bronze stainless, and, of course, they are smudge-proof.
Higher-end cooktops they offer include magnetic induction technology, whereby a pot of water can reach the boiling point in seconds.
Frigidaire Gallery has a roomy compartment in the middle that can become either a refrigerator or a freezer at the touch of your finger, whichever space you need more at the moment. And other models feature a hot water line and built-in Keurig coffeemaker.
In addition to Frigidaire, they carry all the lines found at a national chain store, plus a few more, including KitchenAid, Amana, Bosch, GE, Whirlpool, Electrolux, Sub Zero and Wolf, just to name a few.
Stewart’s services everything it sells with trusty factory-trained technicians. And appliance repair is a big part of their business.
Stewart’s TV & Appliance is located at 468 Cleveland Street in Elyria. Store hours are Monday and Thursday, 9 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday, 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.; and Sunday, 11a.m. to 4 p.m. Parts Department hours are Monday-Saturday 9a.m. to 5 p.m.; Sunday, Closed. There are zero percent financing programs available. Since they own an off-site warehouse, you can have your appliance purchase delivered quickly. They offer free delivery on appliances over $499, and haul away. Their technicians are experienced and certified. Call 440-365-7321 or visit StewartAppliance.com for more information. Check out their Facebook page for live demonstrations in their kitchen from local chefs.