Hardwood Floors February/March 2017

Wood Stock

Real Antique Wood owners meet with Tilman Fertitta in the board room. Photo courtesy of CNBC.

Steinway Hall. 000 square

Real Antique Wood Featured on CNBC’s Billion Dollar Buyer

By Stacy Brown

Real Antique Wood’s information on file for future reference. Shortly after, a television production company contacted Gary and Lisa for a Skype interview. “I was a little confused; I was thinking what does a production company have to do with Landry’s? I didn’t know what was next. I thought maybe they were going to do a show and they were going to buy some wood from us,” says Gary. “We couldn’t be happier. As a small start-up, this is a life changing opportunity, and we get to share our passion more broadly.” As it turns out, Real Antique Wood had caught the attention of chairman and CEO of Landry’s, Inc. and host of Billion Dollar Buyer, Tilman Fertitta. Fertitta oversees a number of nationally known dining and entertainment brands, including McCormick & Schmick’s and Golden Nugget Hotels & Casinos. With these and other businesses under his purview, he has tremendous buying power. In each episode, he spends time with two small businesses, sampling their products and getting to know their owners.

Real Antique Wood was founded on a dream when owners Gary and Lisa Horvath saw the opportunity to salvage old wood and give it new life. With a long history in the wood flooring industry through ATC Hardwood Flooring, it was the natural next step to open a reclaimed wood mill. “We love old wood. We also love a good story,” says Gary. “When we hear of old barns that are being demolished, we jump at the chance to save them. We rescue this wood and then we turn it into something remarkable. We like to think that we are preserving and continuing the story of every beam, barn door, and board.” Little did Gary realize when he made a casual suggestion to one of his team members that she should make a sales call to Landry’s, Inc. that the next chapter in the Real Antique Wood story would include a foray into Hollywood stardom. Gary shared, “I enjoy watching shows like The Prophet, Shark Tank and Billion Dollar Buyer. A couple of months ago while watching Billion Dollar Buyer, I realized that Landry’s used a lot of reclaimed wood in their restaurants, hotels and casinos, and thought it would be worth our time to reach out and see what their needs were.” So the sales team contacted one of Landry’s interior designers for potential business. The designer said they would put

hardwood floors www.hardwoodf loorsmag.com

10