Outside the showroom at RH Cabinets Hardware are Lisette Mauricio (left), Rigo Hernandez, Steve Morales and Liliana Corpus. Photo by Jane Kathleen Gregorio
Rigo Hernandez enjoys woodworking and a quiet, simple life, and with hard work and determination, he has taken his craft and carved it into a thriving cabinetry business.
“I’ve been doing cabinetry almost all my life,” Hernandez said, “since I was a young boy growing up in Cuba.”
As owner of RH Cabinets Hardware, LLC, Hernandez takes pride in his team of craftsmen and their commitment to delivering high-quality cabinets at affordable prices.
“We never lose our quality, we always use the best materials, and all of our cabinet hardware are the top brands for the best price anywhere,” Hernandez said. “We buy everything straight from the manufacturers, so we can sell it at a lower price versus the big home improvement stores.”
Clients range from commercial to residential.
“We do custom houses and get referrals and repeat orders,” Hernandez said. “We also get repeat business from commercial clients like hospitals that request our cabinetry.”
RH Cabinets Hardware specializes in custom cabinets and doors as well as supplies hardware, cabinet organizers, hinges, plates, drawer slides and miscellaneous tools.
“We make custom doors and supply about 1,000 per week,” Hernandez said. “Whenever we get the order on Monday, we guarantee delivery by Friday.”
For Hernandez, the road to success involved a series of challenges. Forced to leave behind the hardship of life in Cuba as a young man, his path eventually brought him to South Texas. His career in cabinetry began at a local shop, which later, he had to quit because of school.
“I was going to school to learn English and also take accounting classes while working in my garage making cabinets part time,” he told Corpus Christi Business News. “At night, I would deliver pizza. After I graduated from accounting, my cabinetry business was doing so well that I stopped having to delivery pizza.”
Managers at the pizza franchise, after learning of his skills in cabinetry, eventually hired him to do contract work at many of their branch locations. His success and quality work led to more orders until he decided to put his accounting degree to good use by starting his own business.
“I started getting more contracting projects, and since the pizza chain required you to have a business license, in 1999, it became official,” he continued. “That’s when my business was originally called RH Quality Cabinet.”
In 2000, Hernandez moved the company into a 500-square-foot building. Not long after, his company outgrew the space, leading him to relocate to a 4,500-square-foot facility.
“Because our business kept growing, almost right away, we had to relocate,” Hernandez said. “Later on, we started selling hardware, so we added an adjacent 2,500 square feet that serves as a retail store and showroom.”
In the showroom, customers can see and touch the quality of the custom cabinetry and inspect the array of organizers, including kitchenware, ironing boards, spice racks and pull-out shelves.
“We have hardware products for sale online, but if they want to touch and feel and personally see what the finished product or supplies look like, they can do that right here at the showroom,” Hernandez said.
During the company’s early days, the only two employees were Hernandez and his wife. Sixteen years later, RH Cabinets Hardware now has a staff of seven.
“I have a wonderful staff that is willing to help customers and guide them or answer their questions.” Hernandez said.
Staff members receive hands-on training directly from Hernandez. For craftsman Steve Morales, who began his career at RH Cabinets eight years ago, working with Hernandez has taught him to find passion in his own work.
“If I’m not at home, I’m at work, but it doesn’t feel like work; it feels like a hobby,” Morales said. “I love looking at a piece of wood and wondering how it’s going to look. It’s like a puzzle. When everything comes together, you see the whole picture.”
Receptionist Lisette Mauricio, who has been with RH Cabinets Hardware for the past two years, enjoys the relationship she has built with her customers.
“I like customer service — helping people design their homes, their kitchen cabinets,” she said. “And I enjoy making customers happy and having them come back and show us photos of the renovations they’ve done.”
The latest addition to the staff, Liliana Corpus, started working with the company eight months ago.
“I have learned a lot of things about different type of woods, edging and sizes of doors, and I’m still learning,” she said. “I actually know how to use measurements and learned how important the accuracy and increments are in measuring doors.”
For Hernandez, the definition of true success is not fame or fortune but a quiet, simple and happy life doing work he is passionate about.
“I am not a person that dreams to be a millionaire,” he said. “I dream to be a steady, good supplier for contractors, and at the same time, to provide the public with hard-to-find items that they can easily get from our store, versus trying to be a multimillion-dollar store. To me, it’s better to be steady and satisfied and have happy employees and happy customers.”
RH Cabinets Hardware, LLC, is located at 5821 Ayers St., Corpus Christi. For more information, call (361) 225-4278 or visit rhcabinetshardware.com.
