Meet John Szeles Szeles Construction
Name: John Szeles
Family names: Gina (wife and mom), Ava (16), Anthony (15), Domenic (12)
Company name: Szeles Construction LLC
Your position: Owner
Website: szelesconstruction.com
Phone number: 908-917-4566
Location: Cranford, New Jersey
How long have you lived in Cranford? Tell us about your family:
We’ve Lived in Cranford for 15 years. My wife Gina of 19 years has lived in Cranford most of her life. She left her job of 26 years a year ago to be a full time mom to our daughter Ava 16, Anthony 15, Domenic 12 and of course our beloved cat Shannon.
What do you like best about the local area? Any favorite places to eat, or places you like to visit?
We love the sense of community here, everyone knows each other. The people of the town help each other, they support local businesses and put so much of their time into the town. Cranford and Westfield are both such special places for so many reasons.
There are so many great restaurants, shops and businesses downtown. There’s always a fun event happening such as Easter egg hunts, Adamsfest, Pizza Run, Christmas caroling, pumpkin carving contest, porch fest, Oktoberfest, and my kids favorite the scarecrow stroll. You can always find me & my crew at the Thirsty Turtle having lunch catching up with John as well as other local business owners. My wife loves Fresh Press Juice and has been going to Perrottis since she was a kid. My daughter loves Delice Macarons, my sons love Wasai Bistro, Vanilla Bean and Roosterspin, just to name a few. Memorial baseball field is a home away from home, my boys have played since they were young. I love to look around those fields and see the kids’ love for baseball.
Describe what your company does:
Our company motto is building homes not houses. We love providing a warm home for families that are personalized to what they need and want. We do everything from new construction to renovations and alterations of your existing home. We also love restoring historic homes in the area.
Can you believe it’s been roughly 20 years now since you started your company? What was it like to build such a successful business?
I cannot believe it’s been that long! Time flies! I started my business in a recession and with 2 kids under 2, that was not easy, if I can do that I can do anything!
How did you decide on this industry (events that led up to where you are now, etc.)?
I started working with my uncle building houses right out of high school. I come from generations of builders and was destined to be one. Little by little I learned more & more, I had some great teachers. I also have my license in building construction code as well as my real estate license, all of which I use on a day to day basis.
What are the current trends in design? What should our neighbors know?
I think the current trends are just adding more space in general to your home. More people are working from home as well as the high demand for homes in the area. If there’s no homes to move to at least there’s the option of adding on to your current home.
How can the neighbors learn more about your business?
To learn more about what we do we have an Instagram & Facebook account that we post weekly showing our progress on current jobs as well as quarterly giveaways to support local businesses. I’m also always on the job sites if anyone stops by. I love talking with them.
How can others learn from your commitment and inspiration? What’s most important to success?
Success to me is being known and remembered for helping people and contributing to my community. It’s also having great relationships with my clients, crew and other local business owners.