Retired owner of Rexburg flooring company looks back on its beginnings and 50 years of business

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REXBURG

Showcase Interiors celebrating 50 years of operation

REXBURG – Blair Rigby was a 20-year-old college student in Utah when he became part-owner of a flooring business in Rexburg.

Fifty years later, the business he helped build is still in operation. Showcase Interiors Flooring America at 1373 South Railroad Avenue provides carpet and hard flooring installations for private and commercial customers. It also does window coverings and cabinets.

Although Rigby, now 70, still plays a small role in the company, he sold it to Patrick Bjornn in 2020. As he reflects on a half-century of serving customers, Rigby tells EastIdahoNews.com “it’s been a good life” for him and his family, and he has “no complaints.”

“I’ve enjoyed so many opportunities to get to know so many people,” Rigby says, adding that his association with customers and employees has brought him the most fulfillment.

He’s had many opportunities to travel around the country as well, which he’s also enjoyed, and he’s planning to do a lot more of that in retirement.

Rigby shared with us his memories of the company’s beginnings and why he decided to pursue this career path.

How it began

It all started in September 1975, when Rigby was a freshman at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. His father, siblings and many of his in-laws were attorneys and judges, and he wanted something different for himself.

“It (a law career) just wasn’t appealing to me. A business career looked like something I would enjoy because it didn’t require all the special education,” Rigby says.

He’s proud of the fact that he’s the only businessman in the family.

Before leaving on a two-year church mission to Italy, Rigby remembers telling his brother-in-law, Douglas Garner, to let him know if there were any business opportunities. Several months before returning home, Rigby says Garner wrote him a letter telling him the business that became Showcase Interiors was for sale.

Don Hammer, a Ricks College professor who was a contractor and did flooring on the side, built the shop on Railroad Avenue. Later, he realized he couldn’t keep up with all the demands on his time, and he listed it for sale before it ever opened.

Garner, who Rigby says “didn’t know a lick” about flooring, invested in the business and asked Rigby about partnering with him. Rigby said yes without thinking much about it and started work seven days later.

Rigby recalls how they came up with the name of the business.

“I don’t remember exactly why we ended up with Showcase Interiors, but we wanted it known that we were doing interior work,” says Rigby. “A student at Ricks College majoring in graphic design laid it (a name and logo) out for us, and we were very impressed.”

Although flooring has always been an important aspect of the business, Rigby says it wasn’t the focus in the beginning. At the time, flooring was secondary to paint, appliances and furniture.

The event that changed everything

That all changed less than a year later. On June 5, 1976, the Teton Dam broke and a wall of water flooded the warehouse on the east side of the building.

“We had over 7 feet of water in this building,” Rigby recalls. “The water hit the front of the building, came back out and took things with it as it exited.”

Four feet of water washed out dirt and asphalt, leaving a big hole underneath the back side of the building. Rolls of carpet were later found scattered throughout town.

When the water subsided and cleanup was underway, carpet was a commodity in high demand and it put Showcase Interiors on the map.

“After the flood, everybody in the area needed flooring,” Bjornn explains. “That’s the reason it shifted so much to the flooring side.”

Rigby says it took six months to a year to get back to normal. It was a huge financial setback for a brand new business, but somehow they got through it.

The Bureau of Reclamation funded the dam’s construction and provided financial compensation to those affected by the flood. Rigby doesn’t recall how much they were awarded, but says it was helpful in getting back on their feet.

“They reimbursed (all our financial losses), including the cost of inventory, damage and repairs,” Rigby says. “If it hadn’t been for that, we wouldn’t have made it.”

‘I couldn’t have asked for a better situation’

About three years later, Garner sold his portion of the business to Rigby, who remained the sole owner until Bjornn bought it from him in 2020.

Bjornn came on board in 1996 after returning from a two-year church mission. He responded to a job posting for a warehouse manager. Like Rigby, flooring was not a career Bjornn had ever thought about growing up, but he got his foot in the door and worked his way up the ranks.

“I looked at other job opportunities … but Blair always made it worth my while to stick around here,” Bjornn says.

He talked Rigby into letting him be the sales manager at one point.

After 30 years with the company, Bjornn says working alongside Rigby at Showcase Interiors has been one of the greatest experiences of his life.

“I’m always in shock at how well my life worked out,” says Bjornn. “Having Blair as my mentor and employer — I couldn’t have asked for a better situation. We’re great friends and have done a lot of things together over the years.”

Rigby echoes that sentiment and expresses support for Bjornn’s efforts to “continue the legacy of what this business is all about.”

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