Empirehouse Inc., - History of our Company

The History of Empirehouse

THE 1950's

The origins of Empirehouse started in 1950 with John and Betty Griffith creating a business to meet their post-war independent spirits. Initially starting with demonstrating and selling weaving looms via mail order catalogs and state fair exhibitions, their interest quickly changed to the window industry.

Working from their home, the first units sold were through door to door sales of combination windows and jalousie porch windows and doors. Eventually the business outgrew their home office and they moved to 428 Washington Avenue North in the warehouse district of Minneapolis. Sharing the building with Bolger Printing, they started fabrication of their storm windows and jalousie windows, becoming one of the largest fabricators and distributors of jalousie windows in Minnesota.

THE 1960's

In the late 1960's, John Griffith started designing his own commercial aluminum entry door. With the housing boom, the increased number of apartment buildings demanded a high quality and durable aluminum door. Patterned after the narrow stile that was very popular at that time, he designed a narrow stile heavy wall extrusion, using solid aluminum push and pull handles. Because he controlled all aspects of the manufacturing, fabrication and installation, he was able to produce a high quality, but competitive entrance unit for commercial use. Many of these doors are still in use today, 40 years later.

THE 1970's

Growing out of the facility on Washington Avenue, in the early 1970's, John and Betty purchased a building formerly owned by the Griffith family where they originally produced and packaged lutefisk, an old Scandinavian traditional dish. The building was transformed from a food producing plant to a metal and glass fabrication shop. For over thirty years, this facility was the home base for Empirehouse, producing hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial aluminum window and door materials.

THE 1980's

Also during this time, Empirehouse began to change the work scope of the company ... from small retail and apartment projects to larger commercial and multi-family complexes. We ventured deeper into fabricating and installing products for more complex and challenging work, with a greater focus on projects that included public work, HUD hi-rise, and industrial buildings. The products for these jobs were less commodity aimed and more custom oriented.

THE 1990's

In addition to windows, entries and storefront products, we were now fabricating and installing more pressure walls, glass handrails, and specialty art glass. With those changes, our customer base expanded to include the premier contractors in the upper Midwest. The addition of more sophisticated fabrication equipment allowed Empirehouse more fabrication capacity, therefore adding more staff in the office, estimating and project management. Growth was forcing us to make the next step. Unfortunately, John Griffith, Sr., passed away in 1999, and was not able to see us enter the next millennium and a new generation of Empirehouse expansion.

THE 2000's

In 2001, a larger and newer facility became home to Empirehouse, and a move from downtown Minneapolis was made. This home for the company expanded the fabrication plant by three times from its former size. The additional building square footage allowed us to take larger contracts, with more complex and engineered products. Our scope included even bigger pressure wall projects, with challenging schedule demands.

More changes were ahead, and in 2007, we started our next move. Finding a facility with more flexibility, and more conveniently located near the major thoroughfares, we made the move to 5200 Quincy Street, in Mounds View, MN in January 2008. The location, the plant, and its proximity to both Minneapolis and St. Paul made this new home a perfect fit for Empirehouse and its employees.