ONTARIO —Dustin Pigman worked with contractors across Richland County for nearly a decade, helping them source materials for flooring projects.
After the closure of LL Flooring on West Fourth Street, Pigman is now stepping into ownership fueled by intention: affordability, quality and connecting with the community.
“I actually was part of the team that ran LL Flooring for just shy of a decade,” Pigman said. “After LL Flooring had closed, one of my contractors that I had built a great relationship with and I decided to open another flooring store to help people save money, keep costs low.”
That store is Legends Flooring and Surplus, now open at 2250 Stumbo Road. The business celebrated its grand opening with support from the Richland Area Chamber & Economic Development, local leaders and community members.
“They did a very good job,” he said of the chamber. “We got a lot of positive feedback. (Ontario Mayor Kris Knapp) being out here … that spoke volumes for us.”
Pigman said he hopes Legends Flooring and Surplus stands out with a combination of low prices, quick turnaround and personal service.
“The name of the game here with us was just savings. We wanted to get people high quality flooring and furniture for as low of a cost as we can,” he said.
Pigman’s 18-year-old son, Caleb Pigman, works part-time at the store now that he’s graduated high school.
“He’s with us trying to start what’s going to hopefully become a family business.”
The shop carries a variety of new flooring and furniture and offers financing options.
“I also ran American Freight for a while,” the new business owner said. “With them going out of business and Big Lots going out of business, we wanted to add to the market.”
Pigman said getting the business ready took intense effort.
“When we took over the building here, we worked about 17 hours a day, nonstop, just painting, stripping, and waxing the floors, just getting everything set up,” Pigman said.
“It was also difficult to find the right distributor for people to be able to save some money.
“Most flooring is sourced from an Ohio-based distributor to minimize wait time. All of our
flooring is readily available in a week,” he said.
Pigman said owning the business is about more than the products offered.
“Being able to help people means so much,” he said. “If I don’t have it in store, I go to the end trying to make sure I can get it for people.”
He said he especially values seeing results.
“I love when people come in and show me pictures of their flooring or their new furniture in their room that they’ve just redesigned,” he said. “It’s just a good feeling when you can help people out and know they are truly satisfied with the end result.”
Pigman gives credit to those who made the business possible.
“I definitely want to thank Kevin and Michelle Nedolast,” he said. “They are the contractors that I partnered with here to make this happen. And, of course, the Richland Chamber and the mayor of Ontario for coming out for the grand opening.”
Looking ahead, Pigman hopes for business to pick up.
“Short term … we’re hoping people just stop by, even if they’re not in the market,” he said. “Our long term goal is just becoming a successful business that provides savings for the whole of Richland County and surrounding communities.”
Every morning, Pigman starts his day in the early hours, brewing coffee and checking in with customers and contractors.
“We have free coffee everyday for our customers, free bottles of water,” he claimed. “Then I start my sales calls and see who I can help that day.”
Legends Flooring and Surplus is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m.
At the heart of the business are the values Pigman has carried with him since his early days in his career.
“Just always putting the customer first,” he said. “That’s what we do here.”