How did we begin?

In 1955, Harry Marcus of Marcus Tile realized he was picking up as much tile for other contractors as he was for himself, miles away: There were no distributors in his hometown of Springfield, Massachusetts. Harry and his wife Mollie decided to create their own tile distribution. They sold the tile installation business and partnered with the Wenczel Tile Company to open up Standard Tile Distributors in August 1956. Harry expanded into Connecticut with partner Jack Knies. Harry and Mollie's son, Steve Marcus, entered the family business as well and, in 1969, opened a location in Albany, New York, naming it Best Tile.

The expansion continued!

By the early 1970's, Best Tile was importing tile from around the world and had created a large presence in the Northeast. Steve and partner Bob Rose expanded into Central and Western New York. Brad Marcus, Steve's brother, expanded our Massachusetts footprint by founding Boston Tile. Soon after, Steve and Bob expanded to Pennsylvania with partner Chet Whittam. Following that, Best Tile opened up locations in Rhode Island, New Jersey, Maryland, and Virginia, partnering with some of the industry’s most knowledgeable players. In the 1990s, Best Tile expanded into Vermont, and also to North Carolina with partner Frank Donahue. At the start of a new millennium, Brian Ford joined as a partner in Eastern New York. Our newest locations include upscale showrooms that elegantly feature our tile, stone, glass and mosaics products in Charlotte, North Carolina (2015), Lacey, New Jersey (2017), Frederick, Maryland (2018) and Hampton, New Hampshire (2022).

What can you expect next?

Today, the third generation of the Rose and Marcus families work closely with Best Tile partners and managers in a time of showroom innovation and product expansion. Our tile and stone collection is among the most compelling in the market, and our commitment to a deep stock of Setting Materials, Underlayments, Shower Systems and Accessories makes us a technical resource go-to for tile contractors and home builders. We nurture our business by embodying a stable, family-oriented culture and a service-oriented philosophy. As we build on our tradition, we anticipate even more innovation and growth while keeping a strong reputation. Today, our 33 locations work together under the East Coast Tile Group of companies. Many customers are impressed to find out how large our family business has become: As the largest importer of tile and stone on the East Coast, our values of providing superior quality and excellent customer satisfaction have not changed since Harry and Mollie started the company, and they never will.

Our Passion is Tile and Stone.

It’s not just a statement, it’s our family trait. We look forward to assisting you and your family for generations to come.