The New Kitchen store gets a new name and focus.

Byline: RETAIL NOTEBOOK By Joe Mosley The Register-Guard

The more things have changed at The New Kitchen in Eugene's Southtowne Shops, the more they've remained, well, somewhat the same.

It's still a place to start if you're shopping for a new kitchen or bathroom and it's a one-stop shop to handle everything from concept to countertop. It features two lines of cabinets, it can supply sinks or even appliances and it can farm out drafting, engineering and construction work.

But the showroom at 2817 Oak St. became part of Portland's Neil Kelly Co. last month, taking on the new name and also the 57-year-old firm's expanded focus of overall home remodeling - with an emphasis on kitchens and bathrooms.

"A lot is the same, but a lot is different," says Kathleen Donohue, who worked at The New Kitchen 16 years ago before moving to Portland to work at the Neil Kelly Co. and then on to Seattle, where she remained in the kitchen and bathroom industry.

Donohue was asked to return to Eugene and serve as showroom manager when the Neil Kelly Co. agreed to purchase The New Kitchen from Burnell Ambrose, who owned and operated the business for 18 years.

"They would do bathrooms and some other remodeling, but really their focus was kitchen," Donohue says. "The Neil Kelly Co. has been specializing for 57 years in remodeling people's homes ... but we're pretty much known for kitchen and bath remodeling. So acquiring a kitchen showroom was a natural for us."

Under either ownership, the showroom has emphasized quality, she says.

"You always hear people say that The New Kitchen is the most expensive kitchen showroom in town," Donohue says.

"But they always say in the same breath that you're the best. People don't question that they're going to get a good product."

Friday from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. will be the Neil Kelly Co.'s grand opening of the Eugene showroom, and will feature a tribute to Ambrose's years as owner of The New Kitchen.

Under its new ownership, the showroom features two certified kitchen designers, along with a four-page list of contractors for every specialty. Custom cabinets include Horizons, built in Portland and owned by DeWils Cabinets of Vancouver, Wash., along with the Neil Kelly Co.'s own brand.

Staff from the Neil Kelly Co.'s two Portland showrooms also are available to help on projects, and arrangements are made with other local businesses - Eugene TV and Appliance, for instance - to provide peripheral products.

The Neil Kelly Co. operates as a single-source, design-and-build contractor. Its staff begins work for a customer on a fee retainer, then puts together the particulars of a contract to complete all phases of the job.

The approach eliminates the need for homeowners to serve as their own general contractors, or to seek a variety of bids from various trades people.