Best Practices: Bockrath Flooring and Rugs – Aug/Sept 2025

By Jessica Chevalier

“If you don’t have the gerbil running around in your head, you are complacent,” says Doug Bockrath, owner of Bockrath Flooring and Rugs in Dayton, Ohio. Indeed, Doug is a man with a gerbil running around in his head. He is excited, fast-paced and unafraid to run toward ideas that other retailers eschew. 

Case in point: Bockrath is open on Sundays. “I can’t tell you how many times I have a customer say that the reason they chose us is because we are open on Sundays.”

In addition, Bockrath is unapologetically high-end. “I’m not afraid to hear ‘You paid too much at Bockrath’ because I offer something that no one else can offer,” says Doug. That something includes expertise in high-end rug repair through its growing rug studio as well as specialty stairwell work. While the firm’s stairwell installation and specialty rug business have been differentiators for over ten years, all facets of the business are experiencing tremendous growth.

Continuing tradition

Bockrath was started in 1959 by Vic Bockrath Jr., who followed his father, Vic Bockrath Sr., into the flooring business. In 1925, Vic Sr. entered the flooring business and was soon named flooring manager for Rike Kumler Co., a Dayton-based department store. Vic Sr. began installing linoleum and carpet and repairing oriental rugs. In 1955, he launched his own company, averaging ten to 15 repairs a week, and taught his sons, Vic Jr. and Ed, the trade. 

Vic Jr. and Ed began selling and installing out of their van in 1959 and, in 1970, opened their first storefront next door to Dayton’s high-end steakhouse, the Pine Club. Like the Bockrath of today, the original operation targeted the higher end of the market.

As a young man, Doug had no interest in joining Bockrath because it was a joint venture between his father and his Uncle Ed, and Doug couldn’t see what his place would be there. Plus, he had found his own career path as a rep for World Customweave and Mohawk’s Harbinger. 

However, Vic Jr. called Doug one day 30 years ago with a surprising announcement, “I bought out Ed. When can you start?” Doug resigned and joined Bockrath as a retail sales associate. 

Today, Doug’s wife, Erin, works alongside him in the business, serving as vice president and overseeing marketing efforts. The couple have three grown daughters (ages 29, 27 and 25), none of whom work in the business. 

Curated & customer-centric

With his 83-year-old receptionist, Lora Michigan, who has been with the company since 1992, greeting each customer who enters Bockrath, Doug sets the scene early for the type of experience customers will have. The high-ceilinged, 18,000-square-foot showroom is as tidy as a pin with visibility across the space. Video message boards on the front desk and throughout the space display images of completed Bockrath installations and team members. The showroom floor features over 100 hard surface and 35 carpet sample vignette installations that Doug rotates out frequently to keep them fresh. 

In addition, the rug studio is interactive, encouraging customers to watch the rug artisans-Jess Perrine and Matt Maurer-fabricate and repair rugs. 

The idea for the rug studio was motivated by the industry-wide trend toward decreasing carpet sales. Doug noticed that the consumers purchasing carpet were selecting high-quality goods and going “big with fashion.”

Says Doug, “I am blessed to have this niche that my dad and uncle created. We have flooring industry presidents and vice presidents visit and say, “This showroom should be in New York City or Chicago.”

Uncompromising

“We are fashion-driven,” says Doug. “That’s my niche, and it’s a niche that will be forever important to consumers. We don’t want to be bottom or middle. We want to be the top. Businesses serving the top are always busy.” On the carpet side, Bockrath carries products that are $50/yard and up, including products by Nourison, Couristan, Prestige and Karastan.

When Vic Jr. and Ed were running the business, they formed a partnership with rug artisan Jim Hartley, to whom they subbed out rug work. Jim trained his daughter Gina Hartley-Cason in the trade, and, just over a decade ago, Doug asked Gina whether she’d be interested in working at Bockrath. She said yes, and Doug converted a quarter of his warehouse space into the rug studio. Gina went on to train Jess, who now leads the studio. In addition to her in-studio work, Jess goes out to job sites to finish custom jobs. “Jess does handbinding and handsewing with a hidden stitch,” Doug explains.

The rug studio goes hand-in-hand with Doug’s focus on staircases. Not only is the rug studio a showpiece, Doug and his retail sales associates take customers into the studio to get feedback from the rug artisans about design and placement, nurturing feelings of expertise and customization. 

Bockrath rug repair work is also notable. Doug reports that customers have thanked Jess and Matt with tears in their eyes, grateful for the restoration of a family heirloom.

“When you are swimming in the high-end pool and receiving carpets from all over the world, it’s incredible; it’s so cool. It’s Christmas every day when boxes show up,” says Doug.

“I’ve had a couple stair runner reps come in and say, ‘You nailed it.’ This is an untapped business,” Doug notes. “Everyone has stairs. Why be boring with your stairwell? We want to delve more into specialty carpet. We want to be in a place where customers will have to schedule a month out or two for a carpet installation because we are so in demand.” 

Bockrath sells only hardwood, LVT and soft surface.

Community works

Bockrath is community-oriented, supporting three local charities. Pink Ribbon Good serve people affected by breast and gynecological cancer, providing free healthy meals, rides to treatment, housecleaning essentials and peer support. Sicsa is a pet adoption and wellness center, while We Care Arts has the mission to increase confidence and artistic skill in individuals with developmental disabilities, substance use disorders and mental health diagnoses.

In fact, in support of We Care Arts, for the past nine years, Bockrath has held an art contest. The winning drawing is replicated in two area rugs-a small one for the winner and a large one to be auctioned off. Proceeds support the We Care Arts organization.