On the Cover: Frontier Kitchens

The kitchen is often the place in a home where people gather. Whether it is to share a bite to eat, cook a meal together, catch up over a cup of coffee, or inevitably spend hours simply sitting at the table reflecting on life, the kitchen is a very personal space. People end up spending several hours each day in their kitchen without realizing it. In many ways, kitchens are the heart of a home.

Daniel Ewing is keenly aware of this importance. In April 2021, he purchased the well-known Baker’s Frontier Kitchens in Batavia, and this past September, he opened an exquisite, state-of-the-art Kitchen Design Center in Webster. Between the two locations, Frontier Kitchens serves Monroe, Genesee, Wyoming, Livingston, Orleans, Ontario, and Erie counties. As they like to say, “If you can drive to our house, we’re happy to drive to yours.”

For Ewing and his team, they realize that the kitchen design process is very personal, often emotional, and guaranteed to be an extremely rewarding experience. The Frontier Kitchens family takes this seriously. “The opportunity to meet customers and develop a relationship with them to really help transform their kitchen is very impactful,” Ewing reflects.

The new Webster showroom is the premier place to make any homeowner’s dreams come true. It houses fourteen kitchen displays and many styles of quartz and granite countertops to explore. Simply put, the new Frontier Kitchen Webster showroom is a world of its own that inspires creativity and encourages new beginnings.

A Collaborative, Customer-Centered Experience

While designing a kitchen can feel like a daunting undertaking, Ewing suggests the first step is to begin with a visit to the showroom, where customers get a sense of what is important to them in a kitchen. Ewing says, “The first visit helps customers figure out what they like. Are they more interested in paint colors or wood species? Are they looking for a full inset cabinet door style, or would a half or full overlay work better for them?” As customers start to learn what they like, they begin discussions with the design team.

Following the visit to the showroom, a designer schedules a home visit to take measurements, get to know the space, and speak with the customer in greater depth to learn what their dream kitchen will look like. These home visits are always complimentary.

The Frontier Kitchens team then starts designing. At times, this includes more than one plan option that satisfies the clients’ wants and needs. Information gathered from the initial showroom visit and in-home consultation provides the designer with details translated into the design, including everything from functional cabinets and accessories to working patterns and color schemes.

The next step includes a second visit to the showroom to discuss designs and review quotes for cabinetry and countertops. Using 3D rendering software, the designer walks through the proposed plans with the client, reviewing details of each cabinet and the thought behind each concept. This visit also includes a referral to an installer, as Frontier Kitchens focuses and isolates their process solely on the kitchen design itself to ensure full dedication to their craft.

From start to finish, Ewing describes the kitchen design process at Frontier as highly iterative and collaborative. “We discuss with each customer what they like about the first two designs. We then decide if there is a need for another rendition. We are happy to create as many designs as you need,” he says.

Throughout the design process, Frontier Kitchens makes sure to keep each client’s budget at the forefront in all decisionmaking. “We are happy to fine-tune the design until everyone is more than satisfied,” Ewing assures.

Guiding with an Impact

Between the Batavia and Webster locations, Frontier Kitchens has two of the largest kitchen design showrooms in the tri-county area, and they are only getting started. For example, the Webster design center will soon showcase an outdoor kitchen through Stoll Industries. Open Monday through Friday, the showroom is ready and eager to help community members design their personal home oasis.

When Ewing is not busy at work, he is an avid golfer. Since buying Frontier Kitchens, it has been a primary goal to give back to the community, and he enjoys doing so through playing in area golf charity tournaments. In fact, he hopes to host a Frontier Kitchens golf tournament this year! He and his team will collectively choose charities to support through proceeds donation.

Frontier Kitchens is much more than a kitchen design business; their work is about connecting with others, learning customers’ needs and what makes them happiest, helping them create a space to share memories for years to come, and above all, acting as a guide through a very personal journey.

Candlelight Cabinetry – A Local Staple

A customer favorite at Frontier Kitchens is the well-known Candlelight Cabinetry. When Ewing purchased Baker’s Frontier Kitchens in Batavia – a business that had been open for many years – previous owner Tim Baker had established a decades-long, strong working relationship with Candlelight Cabinetry, a custom cabinet business located in Lockport. Today, Ewing and Frontier Kitchens proudly continue the phenomenal working relationship with Candlelight.

In fact, thirteen out of the fourteen displays in the Webster showroom feature Candlelight Cabinetry. Their cabinets are customized based on wood species, finish color, door style, and overlay. With manufacturing so close by, costs run much lower. The Frontier Kitchen team personally picks up and delivers cabinetry directly to customers, which removes the cost of freight and delivery fees, and reduces the potential for damage during transport.

“Candlelight is really a custom cabinet manufacturer with semi-custom prices,” Ewing explains. Their high-quality standards have established them as leaders in the kitchen design industry for the past several decades. From only using steel gussets (while most competitors use plastic) to their vast range of accessories, Candlelight helps Frontier Kitchens designers truly personalize and optimize a customer’s dream kitchen.

One of Ewing’s favorite aspects of the Candlelight line is the way their accessories can be simple yet highly practical with the ability to change a kitchen’s flow. As someone who loves to cook for hours in his own kitchen, Ewing loves Candlelight’s many accessories for addressing the ever-present spice rack debacle, for instance. Accessories act both functionally and decoratively, and the options are endless.