Then and Now: Lutherville Tile & Marble Showroom

Red dragon, golden ivory and blue pearl royale—all are color names of granite countertops at the Lutherville Tile & Marble Showroom.

But in the 1920s through 2001, customers entering that same building at 1610 York Road would have had different items to choose from: shave and a haircut, for example.

That's because back then it was Otto Gross' Barbershop.

Otto Gross died three years short of achieving his goal—100 years of family barbering. In 1904 his father began cutting hair at another location on York Road. And in 1928, he moved into the location now occupied by Lutherville Tile, according to an article from The Baltimore Sun in 1999.

At age 85, Gross gave his final haircut. It was August 2001, and less than two weeks later, he died.

The building outside had changed little since its barbershop days, except for a small addition. Years ago the building was moved 20 yards further from York Road, to increase Gross’ parking area.

The building's architectural style is that of a house and not a store. Gross actually lived with his family on the second floor of the house.

Nine years ago when Tony Benedetta, the owner of Lutherville Tile & Marble, set up shop in the building, the place had not changed since Otto gave his last haircut. “I took out the barber chairs and remodeled the whole place,” Benedetta said. “Chairs, mirrors—everything. The stool that they had in the front from the 1920s was still there. It looked like it was right out of the 1920s—nothing touched.”

Don Constable, Benedetta’s business partner and cousin, said, “We still get customers, once every other week or so, that come in here and say, ‘Yeah, I remember getting my hair cut in here!’”

Rich history

Benedetta discovered a neat, old secret of Gross’ when Benedetta was remodeling the property.

“We actually found a coin collection,” he said. “My brother and I were ripping the ceiling down. We heard this cling cling cling sound and we’re like, what is that? We looked at the floor, and there were a couple of dimes. It was surreal! So I pulled it down, and this green bag hits the ground, and there was change everywhere.”

Apparently, Gross had secreted-away the collection in a brass grating in his upstairs apartment. He died, and no one discovered it until Benedetta’s renovation exposed the small treasure.

“We ended up giving it to his daughter,” said Benedetta, “and I don’t know what it was worth. But it was a lot of old coins, old silver dollars and half dollars. It was pretty cool.”

Today, Benedetta’s company does all types of remodeling and renovating as well as selling and installing stone countertops.

It is known for its giant slabs of marble and granite parked in the front parking lot. Besides countertops, it offers full-service home improvement, including kitchen and bath renovations, decks and patios.

“That’s granite quartz, crushed and polished,” said Benedetta, pointing out a countertop sample. "... It’s very consistent in color, so it comes out like this every time.”

A good product that comes out consistent every time. Sounds like he's referring to the businesses at 1610 York Road.