Business: Great Western Flooring Co.

Address: 720 N. Washington St., Naperville

Phone/website: 630-357-3331; www.greatwesternflooring.com

CEO: Steve Chirico, 65; President: Lauren Voit, 41; Vice President: Dana Park, 38. They all live in Naperville

Years in business: 44

What does your business do? “We’re a flooring retailer. We are known for offering design services along with products and installation. Our niche is the customer experience, finding the product that meets each customer’s individual needs,” Voit said.

What sets you apart? “We’ve worked in the Chicago western suburbs a long time. Family-owned and operated. We have a unique and, in a lot of cases, exclusive product offering. You can find things here you wouldn’t be able to find elsewhere,” Voit said.

“What (my daughters) did when they took over the marketing, they went with products that are more unique, more exclusive, so people had to come to us. …  (We became) a destination flooring company,” Chirico said.

These are just a few samples of the tiles available at Great Western Flooring Co. in Naperville. The family-owned business has flooring options available from 75 manufacturers. (Steve Metsch/Naperville Sun)

Where did you get the name? “I started a tile company in college. I wanted a name bigger than the company. My sister-in-law at the time said, ‘How about Great Western Tile?’ As we started adding products, we became Great Western Flooring,” Chirico said.

Do you have another location? “Our store is being rebuilt in Geneva now,” Chirico said. “We used to have five stores.”

How do you work with home builders? “We align with whatever their expectations are. Often, we’ll work with the homeowner. Oftentimes, we’ll do the installation for them,” Park said.

What challenges do you face? “The hardest part of the flooring business is the tile part. I started as a tile setter when I started the tile boutique. It’s the most skilled labor of all of our categories, tile and stone installation,” Chirico said.

Do you still set tile? “No,” Chirico said, “but I’m in the field checking jobs. My goal is to check every job every day. We have 10 to 12 jobs going each day.”

How many different manufacturers are represented here? “About 75. We have tile, stone. We have carpet. That includes broadloom, area rugs and runners. We have hardwood, which is prefinished and finished on site. We have vinyl. We have laminate. We have window coverings. We have countertops. We do it all. All the surfaces except wallpaper and paint,” Park said.

“It’s overwhelming for people when they walk in, so we help dial them in,” Chirico added.

How do you do that? “We do the design consultation. We don’t charge for that. We pride ourselves in being the experts. They get a big bang for their buck here,” Voit said.

Why did you start this company? “I was a student at Northern (Illinois University). I had done some concrete work with my brothers in high school. I put an ad in the paper (that) said, ‘College student desires concrete work.’ A woman called and asked if I’d done tile work. I said I’d done some at home with my mom. … That summer, I learned a lot. … When I was a junior (at NIU), I got married and went full time into this,” Chirico said.

Why work in the family business? “I’ve always wanted to. For my eighth-grade birthday gift, I wanted hardwood floors in my bedroom. I love the products we sell and how beautiful we can make spaces,” said Voit, who majored in entrepreneurship at the University of Illinois.

“Timing was right for me. I graduated in marketing from Illinois. … Finding a marketing job was tricky in a recession. … We talked about revamping the company, going from showroom to design center. It’s more of what we do,” Park said.

What do you like best about your job? “I like working with my sister and my dad,” Voit said.

“I love working with them and our whole team. We’re small but mighty,” Park said.

“We’re working with people when they’re not at their best. They are stressed out moving into a new home. … We’ve learned to manage that so people enjoy it,” Chirico said.

What about pricing? “It varies. We do a lot of shopping in the marketplace to make sure we are competitive,” Voit said.

“After all these years, we have strong relationships with many manufacturers,” Park said.

What’s your advice for someone starting a business? “Be nimble. … If you’re going to be successful, even if you are in business for a long time, you better work hard. You have to be involved,” Chirico said.

“Know your strengths. Know your weaknesses. Fill in the gaps with good, qualified people,” Voit said.

“We focus on our values. Our values are GREAT: Growth-minded, respect, excellence, accountability and team,” Park said.

Steve Metsch is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun. If you know of a business you’d like to see profiled in Down to Business, contact him at metschmsfl@yahoo.com.

https://www.chicagotribune.com/2025/09/17/great-western-flooring-chirico-naperville/