New store front adds personal service to local construction, interiors business in Grant

By Becky Uehling

Grant Tribune-Sentinel

With the support of his wife, Kadie (Hanson), and the acquiring of a store front at 220 Central Ave. in Grant, Tyler Thelander has announced the opening of Thelander Interiors, which is serving the entire surrounding area. The business’s first official night open will be during Grant’s Christmas Open House on Thursday, Nov. 17, just one month after closing on the building. 

With just a year of experience behind them in their construction and home interiors business, Tyler and Kadie weren’t seeking to open a store front anytime soon. However, with the closing of Reese Mechanical, and the opportunity in front of them to buy the building from Jason and Adair Reese, the couple just couldn’t say no. 

“We actually had set a 10-year goal of opening a showroom in Grant so people wouldn’t have to go out of town,” Tyler said. “It was a little faster than 10 years, but we just couldn’t pass up the building.”

Both Tyler, 24, and Kadie, 22, graduated from Perkins County High School and both headed east for secondary schooling, Tyler in ag business at Central Community College in Hastings, and Kadie in accounting at the University of Nebraska at Kearney. The couple has been married for two years.

The Thelanders officially started their business on Nov. 1, 2021, offering quality products for the home, with Tyler doing all of the installation. Kadie keeps the books for Thelander Interiors, and she is also a staff accountant at Dana F. Cole and Associates, an accounting firm that just opened an office in Grant.

Tyler said that he decided to pursue a business in construction and home interiors instead of agriculture because he has always had an interest in building things, which started back in middle school with a woods class, and followed into high school with building construction classes. 

“I worked for two other companies before starting my own business. So, I now have five years of experience in the industry,” he said.

Running the business out of his home and his truck for the past year, as well as between Kearney and Grant as he waited for Kadie to finish her schooling, Tyler said it will be nice to have a permanent place in Grant to house the business, and to show off their products. Much of what is in the store now was being stored in their garage, the couple said.

Having a store front will allow the couple to add a design portion to the business, where customers can come in and get help picking out the products they want, like flooring, cabinets, counter tops, and tile, Tyler said. 

Some of the companies that Thelander Interiors works with include Highland Cabinetry out of Denver, Engineered Flooring Products out of Georgia, Cartwright Distributing, Inc., out of Denver, Spelts Schultz Countertops out of Kearney, and National Flooring Products out of Omaha. Each of the companies has a short turnaround time on getting product to their customers, Tyler said. Quick turnaround is important to the Thelanders, especially with the struggles so many are having with a slow supply chain.

“We want quick turnaround because we think that is why so many people go to Menards for their products because they want that quick turnaround,” Kadie said. The couple commented that many of the products they offer are products that isn’t offered in the region. 

Tyler and Kadie pride themselves on having quality products in several price ranges to cover the needs of a wide variety of customer needs. 

Another nice feature about the Thelander Interiors’ service is that Tyler will be installing everything, and has hands-on experience with the products he is selling. 

“I like to know what I am selling and installing,” Tyler said. 

The other nice thing about their new show room is that customers will be able to see and feel the products going into their homes, which makes deciding on products a lot easier, they said.

For now, the Thelanders will be the only employees at the business, along with Kadie’s brother, Casey, who is a senior at Perkins County High School and has a school workstudy with Thelander Interiors. Hunter Garner, a 2021 PCHS graduate, also works for the couple during the summer. 

“We are still trying to figure out what we want to do with hiring,” Tyler said. 

“We are going to hold off for now (with hiring), just until we can get everything up and going,” Kadie said. 

For now, Tyler will be working on installations in the mornings, Monday through Friday, 7:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and then be available for appointments with customers in the store in the afternoons until 5:30 p.m. The store will also be open on Saturdays from 7:30 a.m. until 12 noon. People can stop in when the store is open to catch Tyler, or call and make an appointment with him at 308-352-8478. Kadie can be reached on her cell phone at 308-280-0603.

As for what was previously an arcade in the upstairs of the business will now be the couple’s own personal space. However, they are going to be renting out the back of the business to Kadie’s parents, Jill and Scott Hanson, who own and operate Ogallala Natural Beef.