Steven Haubenstock is the third generation of his family to successfully manage a home furnishings and marketing organization in the Tampa Bay area. Married for 36 years and a father of five, Haubenstock earned his Bachelor’s in Business Administration from the University of South Florida before beginning his career as the Group Sales Manager at Foley’s, a division of May Department Stores. Today, he serves as the President of Carriage House Interiors Inc., which has been providing quality products and exceptional customer service while representing the global brand Ethan Allen since its opening in 1968.
My grandfather moved from New York in the late 1930s and opened a used furniture store in downtown Tampa. The building is still there on Florida Avenue. After my father and uncle returned from serving as pilots in the Army Air Corps during World War II, they joined the business and took over from my grandfather. In 1968, my father and uncle closed the downtown location and opened Carriage House Interiors, an Ethan Allen retailer, on North Dale Mabry. I used to go to the downtown location to play and was present at the Dale Mabry opening.
I grew up in Tampa on Davis Islands and live there again now. It was and still is a great place to live. We could ride around all day on our bikes and our parents knew we were safe. Then we would go to the soda shop at the drug store and get honey buns and a cherry Coke. We played baseball and corkball at the playground, football in the street on Riviera Circle, fished all over the islands and spent long days on the water. It was the place where I made lifelong friends.
One of my first jobs was to sweep out the garage at home for a 25¢ allowance. I had to do it every Sunday after Sunday school and before I could go play. Then my father would inspect my job. If it wasn’t done right, I had to do it again. It taught me to do it right the first time.
I always wanted to run businesses and was always working to earn money—mowing lawns, cleaning windows, and delivering pizzas. My father having his own business was influential as well. After college, a buddy and I opened a produce stand on SR 54 and Livingston Avenue. We would go to the farmers market at 4 a.m. to buy wholesale produce, then drive to Ruskin to pick enough tomatoes to make the back of my car scrape the ground on the way back to set up the stand in Lutz. Once I bought watermelons from a farmer but had to pick them myself. I drove my car out into the field, filled it up and then found it was so heavy it got stuck. I walked a mile to the farmer’s house and asked him to drive his tractor out to pull my car free.
As a teenager, I worked at the design center after school and during the summer. Throughout college and after, I worked at various retail sales jobs and, in 1987, returned to work at Ethan Allen full-time. Now we have two stores, one in Brandon and one in Citrus Park.
Something people may not know is that Ethan Allen is not just a furniture store. We have and sell furniture, but our real job is to develop relationships so we can help our clients create a lifestyle in their homes.
My business philosophy is to learn. Learn from your successes and learn from your mistakes. That way you can repeat the successes and not the mistakes.
The biggest honor of my life has been to be a husband and a father. My wife, Susan, has been my greatest supporter. Together we raised five wonderful kids while both having full-time careers. Next would be my parents, siblings and in-laws. Then, all of the hard-working members of Carriage House Interiors, this Ethan Allen Retailer.
Now that Susan and I are empty-nesters, I have time for a couple of hobbies. That was not the case in years past with five children at home. Golf and swimming take up most of my spare time. I joined a golf group that sponsors monthly tournaments at great courses around Florida. I am also training for a five-mile swim race in St. Croix in November. Recently, I participated in the swim relay portion of the St. Anthony’s triathlon and a 3.5-mile Swim the River race in Rainbow Springs River..
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
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