Steve Reynolds recently opened his new business, Patriot Flooring, in the space previously occupied by Jim's Carpet. Jim Pitcher, owner of Jim’s Carpet, was Steve Reynold's uncle.

“My uncle did a really good job,” Reynolds said. “My dad taught him how to do flooring.”

According to Reynolds, another uncle started a carpet/flooring store in Augusta in the early ’60s called Floor Master. Reynolds said the shop employed a lot of his family members.

“They sold it, and after a few years the business went downhill,” Reynolds said. “A lot of my family who had worked for him moved to different parts of the state, and opened their own flooring businesses.”

Reynolds said his uncle, Jim, came to Boothbay during the ’70s “for whatever reason,” and opened Jim's Carpet on Park Street in Boothbay Harbor. “There was a Sears (catalog store) there too.”

His uncle was in need of some experienced help, so Reynolds was coming here during high school in Winslow to help out.

“After a while I decided I didn't want to do flooring, so I got into a lot of other things,” Reynolds said. “I came back to Maine during my late twenties, and my uncle had just hurt his back. He needed help, so I pitched in.”

What started out as a month or two gig turned into two or three years. “We loved working together. It wasn't a job to go to every day. It was fun.”

One day in 2001, during a break, Reynolds said his uncle asked him to buy him out. He was ready to retire.

“We signed paperwork and I took over the store (in the location where it is now). A couple weeks later September 11 happened.” Reynolds said he didn't have a customer for three weeks. “I had just signed my life away, and not one person walked through the door for three weeks.”

Reynolds said he had bought the business, but he was trying to make enough income to buy the building.

After three weeks of no customers, Reynolds said a lot of people started moving to the area, and buying cottages, and they all wanted new flooring and carpeting. “I had to beg, borrow or steal to get a day off in the next seven years. Business was great.”

Then some time around 2009 Reynolds bought his dream business: T.J.'s Classic Billiards in Waterville. “The best pool hall in Maine,” he said.

He sold the carpet business, but kept the building. The carpet store changed hands a couple times with little success. So Reynolds stepped back in.

“I couldn't let the 30-year-old goodwill of this building go to waste. So I'm back.”

Reynolds said that there has been a void with the carpet business being closed. “People have been stopping by to welcome me back. There is a need for this business in the area.”

Reynold's wife, Tammy, is his partner in the business, taking care of paperwork. “I do the rugs and she's the brains,” he said. “We complement each other.” The couple has two daughters, Taylor and Raven, both attending college.

The flooring business includes carpet, ceramic tile, hardwood and vinyl. Reynolds said his focus is residential work, but he will also do light commercial jobs for local businesses.

“My uncle had a good name, and I carried it on for almost 10 years,” he said. “The guys who were here after me did some good work, but I'd like to restore it back to the level that Jim and I had.

“I want to be the expert, local, residential flooring guy.”

Patriot Flooring is located at 400 Wiscasset Road in Boothbay, on the corner of Route 27 and River Road. The phone number is 207-660-5550.