AMHERST, N.Y. (WKBW) — A long-time Amherst window treatment company has new ownership for the first time in 30 years, with a familiar face now leading the business.
Steve Bacon, who served as project manager at Sonic Blinds on Niagara Falls Boulevard, took over the company last October when the former owners, Mike and Ann Lin, retired after three decades in business.
"We do anything you can put on a window, any blinds, drapes, shutters. We also do a lot of outdoor screens," Bacon said.
WATCH: 'We really love our staff': Amherst window treatment company under new ownership
Bacon told me one of his first priorities after taking ownership was keeping his team of 15 employees intact.
"So, I've been here for the past eight years. I know all these employees and the previous owner thought it was very important to kind of keep that as a smooth transition, you know, because we really love our staff and everyone that works here," Bacon said.
"It's been a really great experience for me," Sue Betz said.
Betz has worked at Sonic Blinds for 14 years, helping customers select from a variety of window treatments.
"If someone comes in, I help them around the showroom and show them different things," Betz said.
The company serves both residential and commercial clients. Like many small businesses, Sonic Blinds has felt some impact from tariffs.
"Some of the manufacturers we use actually didn't really place any tariffs for, like, the outdoor screens; our primary manufacturer didn't really impose any tariffs. So that was an advantage for us," Bacon said. "Some of them have an eight to 10% increase on products. So, some of that we've had to pass forward, but yeah, there's been challenges with that."
Bacon said the company's full-service model and strong customer relationships have helped it navigate those challenges.
"We're a full-service company, which really gives us an advantage on the commercial work, and helps too," Bacon said. "We repair everything that we make. We have a really good warranty, and I think we have a lot of trust from our clientele."
From the showroom, I walked into the manufacturing area, where much of the product is made right on Niagara Falls Boulevard.
"Gives us an advantage, because we buy a lot of raw materials that we can now manufacture. And we are really competitive in our margins and pricing," Bacon said.
Alvin Kuhn, who has worked at the company for 10 years, runs the production shop where roller shades and vertical blinds are made on-site.
"We're one of the only places where you build and buy in town — otherwise you wait for your product...so we can turn it out rather fast," Kuhn said.
I asked Kuhn what he was working on during my visit.
"I'm currently making a shade," Kuhn said. "This one I hand-cut. We have the table here. I can cut multiple shades."
Sonic Blinds will have a booth at the Buffalo Home Show the next two weekends.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
