Casey Bloemke is the owner of Floor Coverings International Maple Grove, a flooring store that services homeowners across the Twin Cities and beyond.
From Chicago, growing up, Bloemke was reserved, often opting to observe his surroundings in lieu of thrusting himself into the spotlight.
“I usually sat back, analyzed, and took a lot of things in,” the Windy City native says.
“I had a lot of friends, but I was never the center of attention. That being said, later on, due to the industries that I was in, I was forced to become more social and outgoing.”
Today, Bloemke is stoic and in control, a man who has applied the gems of wisdom from his past in order to capitalize on the present.
But getting to this point required resolve and tenacity.
For years, Bloemke worked in the Chicago nightlife scene, managing bars and restaurants until he one day owned a spot, Roadhouse 66, an entity situated right next to Wrigley Field where today he is still a silent partner.
Ten years ago, Bloemke left Chicago and moved to the Twin Cities, leveraging his business acumen to become an owner of Farrell’s, a high-end gym where memberships sometimes equaled rent payments.
The determined Bloemke bought into Farrell’s, eventually acquiring a second and a third Twin Cities location before offloading his ownership stakes in late 2023.
“To run a business correctly, you must work yourself out of the position of being the reason why the business is successful,” the sagacious Bloemke posits.
After selling his Farrell’s franchisees, Bloemke was a free agent on the open market, able to enter any domain that appealed to his senses.
For the cerebral entrepreneur, he narrowed his options down to two:
Floor Coverings International, and Soccer Stars.
One would allow him to assist homeowners with new flooring projects, and the other was arguably operating a glorified babysitting service for the affluent.
Unable to decide on a path, Bloemke consulted his business coach, who after six months of deliberation, dared Bloemke to flip a coin.
“Heads, I was going to do floors,” he recalls.
“Tails, I was going to be teaching soccer to young kids.”
Suddenly, his future was literally up in the air.
One doesn’t need to be a prophet to know which side Bloemke’s coin landed on, but suffice to say, since becoming a retailer for Floor Coverings International, Bloemke’s life has become hectic.
“It was intended to be a turnkey business where I could hire the right people for the right positions, but this venture has also forced me to become an expert in all things flooring, and quickly,” Bloemke acknowledges.
For a guy who was more adept at turning over dinner tables and gym spaces than intimately understanding the nuances of hardwood floors, yes, the transition has been challenging, but it’s also been rewarding.
In turn, Bloemke has quickly established Floor Coverings International as a legitimate player in the Twin Cities flooring scene.
Of note:
When it comes to flooring, homeowners typically have four different products they can select from:
Carpet, hardwood, luxury vinyl/plank (LVP), and laminate (fake real wood).
Each option comes with a different price tag, although the average ticket on most projects ranges from $7,000-$8,000, with many projects even creeping into that $15,000 range.
In that sense, Bloemke’s clients usually are established homeowners who see new flooring as part renovation, and part investment.
“A 55-year-old empty-nester, who is a professional and looking to take equity out of the home that she’s been in for 20 years and put it into home improvement, that’s the type of client I partner with a lot,” Bloemke explains.
Particularly in the Twin Cities, flooring designs, and flooring retailers, are endless, so to distinguish himself from his competitors, Bloemke has tailored his business to be more consultative, and devoid of the shock homeowners encounter when they walk into a massive showroom.
“There is a reason I don’t have a showroom,” Bloemke says, his Osseo warehouse full of flooring products, but not people.
“I’m not trying to compete with big brick and mortars that way because when people walk into those big stores, they get overwhelmed due to the seemingly endless design options.”
While a surplus of options may seem ideal, the reality is that too many choices results in confusion and indecision for homeowners.
To combat the apathy, Bloemke offers a mobile showroom by driving his company vehicles wrapped in Floor Coverings International insignia to your doorstep.
“I come to my clients and make the process super simple,” he says.
“My sales team and I, we’re taking the analysis paralysis out of the equation by serving as a consultant who guides them through the design process so that it is not overwhelming, and instead, very enjoyable.”
What that looks like in practice is that when Bloemke or one of his design associates arrive at your doorstep, they begin the meeting by having an initial conversation around what you’re looking for from your flooring project.
From there, Bloemke or his reps go back to the vehicle and grab design options they believe align with what their clients are looking for, which removes decision overload for clients.
In terms of what makes Floor Coverings International Maple Grove unique, from an installation perspective, Bloemke only employs quality crews.
“Many people are hiring from big box stores, and so they get box store crews, meaning they are people who are just looking for work and they aren’t necessarily able to provide that same attention to detail that we can because they have so many other jobs that they have to get done,” Bloemke details.
“In other words, they’re the lowest-priced labor. I’m not a proponent of that. I believe in quality, and in hiring people who are professionals and experts at what they do.”
Beyond employing bona fide flooring installers, Bloemke also makes a concerted effort to offer exceptional customer service and communication.
“My clients can communicate directly with me,” Bloemke insists.
“They will never have to wonder what is happening during their project because they can always come to me, and I can always give them an answer.”
Moving forward, Bloemke appears primed to have Floor Coverings International make a dent in the Twin Cities flooring landscape.
At present, the flooring company already covers 30 zip codes, and soon, you may see more of their vehicles gliding down the interstates.
“I envision us having up to ten mobile showrooms and buying out some of our other franchisees,” the confident and ambitious Bloemke asserts.
“We want to monopolize the entire Twin Cities and greater areas, and we’re going to do that with great customer service, installation, and communication.”
Adds Bloemke:
“The minimum expectation from the customer is that the flooring work is done correctly, which is why I’m so intent on effective communication both during the job, and then being around long after the project is finished. In many ways, when clients work with me, they’re signing up for a relationship, and not just a service.” QS
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