Invisible Business | Roadside Lumber & Hardware

Mike Tuchman's business was here before almost anything else in the Conejo Valley.

“Conejo Valley used to be just empty tracts of land then,” said Tuchman, owner and president of Roadside Lumber and Hardware, a community fixture since 1975.

“We actually started as a nursery,” he said. “In the 1980s, we outgrew the property and that’s when we became a lumber and hardware store.”

Side-by-side growth with Conejo Valley

Born and raised in the San Fernando Valley, Tuchman has had a long career in the lumber business, having jumped in right after college.

He spends five days a week at his retail location on Roadside Drive, in tandem with Owen Nostrant, his general manager. He also makes periodic visits to the distribution center in Camarillo, which also contains milling operations.

While Nostrant’s responsibilities include general operations and customer interactions, Tuchman remains involved in the day-to-day running of the business.

“I build relationships with clients and help them find solutions to their do-it-yourself and remodeling projects,” said Nostrant, who has been working for Tuchman since 2009. 

Aside from the vast emptiness that was Conejo Valley in the '70s, Tuchman also remembered his lean workforce then. “We have grown from three employees then to 26 now,” he said.

A hardware store and more

Beyond the usual nuts and bolts typical of one’s neighborhood hardware store, Roadside “sells service,” Tuchman said.

“There’s no competition in the service arena," he said. "We have that cornered by our very experienced and knowledgeable staff.”

As part of the Ace Hardware cooperative, Tuchman said, Roadside’s inventory is as broad as the big box stores'. From Honda generators to Stihl chain saws, the hardware store can accommodate the needs of contractors and other customers who are undertaking remodeling projects.

Roadside also carries a wide selection of pre-built and ready-to-install kitchen cabinets in pine, oak and maple. “We’ll walk them through the process,” Nostrant said.

The store also provides custom sidings, made possible by the recent purchase of a molder. “We can match sidings that have been damaged,” Nostrant said, explaining that most lumberyards no longer offer that service.

Next door at Agoura Paint, which Roadside owns, paints, flooring and roof coatings take center stage. Benjamin Moore paints are popular, according to Nostrant, because of the brand's environmentally friendly and zero-VOC (volatile organic compounds) line of paints.

Green business

“We have definitely seen an increase in the demand for greener products recently,” said Tuchman, referring to the paints and other green products that Roadside Agoura Paint offers.

Cotton insulation for homes and lumber that doesn’t need to be treated with chemicals are among the most requested green items, according to Tuchman. “I think people just want to be more environmentally responsible these days,” he said.

Roadside caters to clients from Santa Barbara to Malibu year-round, and its busiest seasons, spring and summer, are just around the corner. “After tax season, definitely, we see a spike in sales due to remodeling projects,” Nostrant said.

“I think people are more project-oriented now and keen on reinvesting in their current property,” Tuchman said, referring to the effects of the recession, which he also linked to the do-it-yourself trend.

Online presence

With the economic slump, Tuchman has done some reassessing of how he does  business. He's invested more time in marketing and giving back to the community through Eagle Scout projects and Little League sponsorships.

“We’re also working on our online presence now,” he said. “We’ve realized that that’s the way to go these days.”