“It’s a family business we run — everything we do is a team effort, we work with our hearts,” said Maria Titone, owner of Old Stone Marble Works. “I am proud that my dad started 20 years ago here. I still keep my maiden name for those reasons.” The company runs no advertisements, with the closest exception being business cards; the business it receives is primarily generated from recommendations and referrals.

“You never forget your foundation of how you started,” said Titone. “That’s really our building blocks. My dad started it. We have a reputation out there, and the goal is to keep it the same way; keep it honorable and respectable.”

The shop features machines that include the Bellani Comet edge polisher, a Montello bridge saw and a Zambon Hidro U bridge saw. The bridge saws use Diamant and Terminator blades, and the employees use primarily Makita hand tools for finishing work. The company doesn’t have a CNC machine and does everything mostly hands on. It relies on Stone Boss of Flushing, NY, for any questions they have.

“We have been using them from day one, they are knowledgeable in their products, they are very accommodating, and they always have a very good sales person that comes around,” said Titone. “If we call and need something, it immediately comes. If we have a question on how to use the equipment or how to use a piece, they will do a little seminar with us on how to use the equipment, or they will guide us and say something like, ‘Hey, this pad is better.’ They always carry the top brand names, so we depend on Stone Boss for those reasons.”

The 6,000-square-foot facility runs one shift with 10 employees, and the company has two install crews. Old Stone Marble Works services clients from Manhattan to Montauk, NY. The company does residential and commercial work, averaging six kitchens a week. Each kitchen is approximately 60 to 70 square feet, and customers select pretty much all stones that are available to them — from marble to limestone, granite to engineered quartz. On top of all of that, the company does many miter jobs and about 2,000 saddles a month.

When it comes to templating, Old Stone Marble Works uses coral plastics. “We believe in the Old World system; it works the best [for us],” said Titone. “I know technology, and believe me, we are big fans of technology, but it is not always the most accurate in this business. My husband is a graduate of RPI, and he is great with electronics and engineering, and we converted him into a stone man. If anyone would stand behind that and believe in it, it would be him. And also some of the machines just sit there idol. That’s why we depend on Stone Boss, they’ll say, ‘You can really just do it with this, or just use this tooling.’ But even the Comet, the edging machine, sits there for a long time.”

Looking toward the future, Old Stone Marble Works intends to work more with architects and do some commercial work. But in the end, the goal is to continue to put out a really good product and make people satisfied with their quality. “Because of our upbringing, we were raised to work hard, and the greatest gift somebody has is their work ethic, and we also believe in great customer service,” said Titone. “We like to be extremely hands on with everything we do. Each piece is individually handled from raw slab to finished product, because each piece and each job is so different, every detail is important to us.”