Las Vegas Stone Carves Its Legacy

Las Vegas Stone Showroom in Northville.

By Paul Natinsky

Rob Kaoud’s craft has taken him across the country and around the world, but he is rooted in the fertile soil of three generations of stone craftsmen.

Kaoud’s grandfather was a hand sculptor in Jerusalem, where he sculpted stone into place on walls and other surfaces. His father took up stonework as well and moved the Palestinian Christian family from the Middle East to the United States in 1969, when the now-56-year-old Rob was a few months old.

By the time he was 10, Kaoud was working with his father on weekends and summer vacations.

Rob’s older brother was the beneficiary of their father’s mentorship, which only served to fuel Rob’s desire to be the best. He briefly considered dentistry, but, at 21, ultimately chose to carry forward the tradition established by two generations of stone craftsmen. It was then that he received what he regards as the highest of compliments, when his father said he never thought he would see anyone better than himself…until he saw Rob develop.

Today, Kaoud is a businessman. But he recalls his last job in 1997 before he “retired off his knees.” It was, at the time, the biggest house in Birmingham. He finished work one day and the client said somewhat irked, “you just made $18,000 today.” Rob replied that he was great at what he did and went on to say that a team of 10 craftsmen could not match his productivity.

Rob and his brother, Sam, spent a few years in Las Vegas developing a company called Mirage Tile and Marble, tackling major projects and greatly expanding their industry knowledge.

In addition to scouring the globe learning about various materials and finding sources of exotic stone, Rob, along with Sam, tackled monumental projects in Las Vegas, including Haze Nightclub, a 20,000-square-foot two-story nightclub venue is equipped with a VIP area for special guests two kitchens, three service bars, three full-service bars, and a 1,500-square-foot dance floor. The floor installation included granite floors, antique wood accents, black quartz, custom carpeting, and slate tile. MTM also added bar and vanity countertops in soapstone, Black Galaxy granite, and marble, among other materials.

Eventually, work in Las Vegas dried up and Rob headed home to Michigan, where he established Las Vegas Stone.

“We’re like the Home Depot of flooring,” says Kaoud. If there were a builder who had to hire all the trades, “they would have to hire a stone fabrication guy, a hard-surface—like for tile and hard surfaces, and then a soft-flooring company to do hardwood, carpet and vinyl. We’re all three of those departments all in one.”

Las Vegas Stone has three Metro-Detroit showrooms in Northville, Detroit and Bloomfield Hills that work in concert with a stone-cutting facility in Plymouth. The company offers 27,000 selections (different types of materials).

All of this work feeds Kaoud’s desire to be “the Michelangelo” of his industry, to inspire and leave a lasting impression.

Eventually, Kaoud envisions selling the company for a premium price. First, he wants to grow it from its current $7 million in annual revenue to $30 million.

Las Vegas Stone, like many businesses that use materials, faces an uncertain future regarding costs as a frequently shifting stance on tariffs takes hold in federal government policy. Kaoud says tariffs on Canada would not affect his business. He says Las Vegas Stone doesn’t do any business with China, so the company won’t be affected by heavy tariffs on that country’s goods and services. However, tariffs on European materials that could be as high as 25 percent are a concern.

With work lined up three years in advance, Kaoud is confident he can keep his army of 65 installers busy and keep his revenue growth on target over the next decade.

But despite his company’s strong reputation and ability to tackle major projects, Kaoud says he never takes his customers for granted, regardless of size. He feels that all of his customers have contributed to the company’s success, and many have helped him weather hard times. As a result, Las Vegas Stone respects managers of large projects as well as individuals re-flooring their homes. “We do jobs as little as $2,000 to $10 million.”

As Kaoud enters the late phase of his career, he is looking to burnish his legacy.

Kaoud is proud of his showrooms, and they, along with his many projects, great and small, will ultimately be his legacy. Kaoud’s brother switched his focus to work in a growing retail sector when the pair left Las Vegas and Rob’s two sons, for a variety of reasons, will not establish a fourth generation of stonecutters.

So Kaoud looks to his showrooms and the vast amount of his work that adorns and enhances buildings across the globe to carry his reputation and artistry to future generations. Once the business is sold, it will be up to the new owners to carry Kaoud’s tradition of hard work and first-class artisanship forward.

Fortunately for Kaoud, his medium is an enduring one. You might say his legacy is written in stone.

CAPTION:

Las Vegas Stone Showroom in Northville.