We're trying to make it as easy to shop for building materials as it is to shop at the farmers market" for produce."
A home-building store that carries regionally sourced and environmentally friendly materials has opened in Chattanooga.
Green's Eco Build & Design aims to fill a void its owners say they noticed locally for the type of products they plan to sell.
The shop's location at 1510 Riverside Drive was a gas station then a liquor store before Tyler Smith, 33, and Sam Young, 35, renovated it in shades of green and reclaimed-wood accents.
Green's Eco Build & Design co-owners Sam Young, right, and Tyler Smith talk about American-made paint brushes in the company showroom.Green's Eco Build & Design
* Location: 1510 Riverside Drive * Contact: 423-551-8867 or www.greens.build * Hours: Monday-Friday: 7 a.m.-7 p.m., Saturday: 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sunday: Closed
The duo became friends shortly after Young moved to Chattanooga from the Washington D.C.-area in 2013, soon after simultaneously concluding: "We need a green-building supply store here," they said.
Smith, a contractor who also owns Chattanooga architecture and design firm Antidote, had regularly been frustrated trying to find eco-friendly products.
"There was no type of place we could go to nor did we have the time" to figure out where to find supplies, he said.
Antidote plans to exclusively source from Green's for contractor-related needs, Smith said. Green's has a design room and workspace open to architects, home builders, contractors, designers and do-it-yourself enthusiasts.
"We're trying to make it as easy to shop for building materials as it is to shop at the farmers market" for produce," Young said.
Stocking the store wasn't a challenge, the duo said. Young had spent many years working at a similar type of store called Amicus Green Building Center in Kensington, Maryland, which also did work with his architecture firm, Root5 Design LLC.
Green's carries items such as cabinetry, flooring, sealant, caulking, lumber and paint. Among the regional companies with products in the shop: Mythic paint of Mississippi, Corona paint brushes of Florida and Executive Cabinetry of South Carolina. Real Milk Paint Co., based in Hohenwald, is a supplier too.
The store also carries several products from local businesses that are unrelated to home-building such as Barley Bones dog treats and The Rustic House soy candles.
Green's has embedded its mission in its structure: The wood accents are whittled from the remains of a demolition project in Red Bank, and the pale gray tiles lining the entry are from StonePeak Ceramics in Crossville. Smith and Young said they spent about $20,000 on renovations and are the only investors in the business.
Green's gave away about 100 tulip poplar saplings in honor of Earth Day last month, around the time its original opening had been planned. Instead, doors opened on May 25, and the store is shooting for a late-June ribbon cutting ceremony.
Contact staff writer Mitra Malek at mmalek@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6406.