The Tile Zone

If you're in the market for tile, natural stone or handmade tile lines, and you've grown tired of the "serve the herd" customer service mentality of big box home improvement warehouses, The Tile Zone is the place for you!

Business partners Joseph Hawkins (easily identified as the one from Boston) and George Hernandez founded The Tile Zone with entrepreneurial zeal, after years of working for the big boxes where they learned their trade.

"It's difficult to provide good customer service when staffing is kept at minimum levels," says Hawkins, who was employed for ten years by Home Depot, the last three of which were as the leading tile salesman at Expo in Huntington Beach. Prior to Home Depot, Hawkins learned the tile business at Color Tile, where partner Hernandez also began in the industry. Most recently, Hernandez sold flooring and tile at the Lowe's on Bellflower Boulevard, in the Los Altos Center. Between the two, they have years of tile and flooring experience and have forged good relationships with the vendors who are pleased to place their products at The Tile Zone.

Hawkins and Hernandez researched the Bixby Knolls area and found great demographics. Situated directly next door to Jongewaard's Bake N Broil, The Tile Zone owners hope to become a neighborhood fixture with a clientele that knows they can depend on the store for great service and competitive pricing.

"We are getting to know the area and the preferences of the immediate neighborhood and we will bring in lines accordingly, says Hawkins. "We really want to tailor our business to the neighborhood."