A couple’s decision to uproot their business from its former store outside of town to Dowagiac’s bustling downtown appears to be paying off.

The Floor Store, a flooring and carpeting business once located on M-51, recently relocated to a space inside the Donker Shopping Plaza on Railroad Street, nearby Movies Movies. Owners Michelle and Jason McNeal opened shop inside the storefront at the beginning of summer, and have immediately noticed a spike in business, they said.

“This whole town has a ‘shop local’ attitude, and has been very good to us so far,” Jason said.

The man, a lifelong resident of Marcellus, has worked in the flooring installation business since 1997, having been taught the trade by one of his best friends’ father when he was 19, he said. After spending years working as a contractor and for other flooring retailers, Jason decided to open his own shop in Dowagiac with his wife, choosing a storefront on M-51 nearly two years ago, he said.

Since then, locals have kept Jason and his staff — comprised entirely of family members— quite busy, with the business serving between four to five homes on a slow week to upwards of 10 homes on more demanding ones, the owner said.

“In one-and-a-half years, we went from not knowing anybody in Dowagiac to now having a pretty good customer base,” Jason said.

Several months ago, the couple decided to lease space inside the downtown shopping plaza to expand the business’ showroom and visibility to customers.

The company currently stocks more than 200 varieties and styles of carpeting, hardwood, laminate and tile, Jason said. More important than their selection, though, is the personalized service the business’ customers can expect, from the moment they first walk through the doors to the moment the last piece of flooring is placed inside their home.

“We service everything we sell,” Jason said. “People who buy through us will get complete installation service — we just don’t load a roll of carpet onto the back of the customer’s car and send them on their way. We want to take the headache out of flooring installation.”

The business offers free measurements and estimates to customers as well, Jason said.

In addition to increasing the amount of walk-in business, the move downtown has also given the owners added support from other local stores and contractors, many of which have employed the services of the Floor Store, Jason said.

The business is open from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Fridays and 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays. The store is also open Monday by appointment only.

To reach the business, people can call (269) 782-4500.