Slice of Rye

Paul and Ruth Riemer
On a Well-Crafted Partnership

– By April Miller –

Paul and Ruth Riemer are the exception to the rule "for richer or for poorer but not for lunch."

The couple will celebrate 29 years running Riemer Kitchens and Fine Cabinetry, and their ninth year in Rye, in 2007, having come a long way from their early days working out of a basement apartment in New Rochelle. They will also celebrate their 27th wedding anniversary next year.

The two met as college students at SUNY Albany, from which they both graduated in 1976. They got married in 1980.

After graduation, Paul took a job with a cabinet company. He quit after a year because he couldn't stand the bureaucracy and believed he could make it on his own.

Well, almost on his own.

Ruth had been working as a paralegal, first for a Wall Street law firm and then in the legal department of a bank, and planned to go to law school. But Paul needed help in his office and Ruth didn't hesitate to change her whole life plan. She officially joined the business in 1981.

"When I told my parents, who had worked together, they said, 'How could you do this?' I always tell people, 'You can't have a 10-year plan'," said Ruth. "It just doesn't happen that way."

Though the idea was for Ruth to run the office and for Paul to sell, soon they were both designing products for clients. A third partner, Jackie Ferretti, joined in 1983.

From 1983 to 1998 the Riemers worked out of a showroom in New Rochelle, showing their own line, as well as others. They decided to move when the area changed.

"New Rochelle as a community started to change in a way that wasn't good for our business," said Paul. "We are a high end business, our product is high end and the community started to move away from that."

Rye offered them just what they were looking for.

Ninety-five percent of the Riemer's business is by referral and it's not hard to see why they are successful.

According to the Riemers, what sets them apart from competitors is the quality of the product and their hands-on approach. "You can always reach us; we are always available," said Paul. "We put our whole selves into every project," Ruth added, "We are as involved as the client wants us to be for as long as they want us to be.”

Riemer Kitchens sees on average 100 clients a year.

When potential clients call to schedule an appointment, the Riemers encourage them to bring everything from magazine clippings they like to architectural plans. They go through their portfolio and find out what the client wants to invest in the project. The Riemers offer a range of product lines to match the client's budget.

They are one of the few companies that still hand draws designs. "It takes longer, but it looks better and our clients love it," said Paul. "When you do it by hand, you're the artist."

When asked if it's ever a problem spending day and night together, the couple says amazingly not.

"Ruth and I work totally autonomously," said Paul. "Ninety percent of the time we don't mix clients and when we do we don't step on each other toes."

And they say the secret to a contented working life is a happy home life. Which means work stays at the office. "Our home life is totally separate."

And happily busy. Besides having two children, a son in college and a daughter applying to college this year, the Riemers are very involved in the community.

They have been working for years with an organization called DebRA, which is dedicated to finding a cure for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a disease characterized by severe blistering of the skin. Blisters form on both the inside and outside of the body, caused by the slightest friction. There are varying degrees of the disease, but as there is no real treatment, besides applying bandages several times a day, it is devastating for the sufferer and his family.

The Riemers first learned of the disease when the child of a close friend of Ruth's was born with EB. At that time there was very little public awareness, but in the past 10 years it has begun to get media attention. Still, "It deserves 100 times the attention it gets," according to Paul.

Each year the Riemers help put together the Mats Wilander Celebrity Tennis and Golf Challenge, an event where celebrities and sports stars participate to raise money to benefit DebRA of America.

The 8th Annual Tennis and Golf Challenge was held Oct. 18 at Westchester Country Club, but the Riemers had been working on it since last summer, holding meetings at their office. Ruth is in change of the silent auction, one of the highlights of the event. Paul says he donates his body to do whatever needs to be done, from renting trucks to "schlepping" things.

The Riemers also support Rye events, including Rye Recreation's Halloween Window Painting and Turkey Trot. Clients know that we like to support the community, so they don't hesitate to ask us," said Ruth.

They are both pleased and amazed to admit that they have been in business so long that not only have they redone some clients kitchens for the third or fourth time, but are now working for the children of those clients.