The Metropolitan Magazine - Eastern Shore Kitchens

Under Chris Layton’s skillful stewardship, Eastern Shore Kitchens offers the best in Old World craftsmanship with a 21st century touch
It’s all too rare these days that someone would know his destiny from the time he formed memories, but that’s exactly the kind of blessing that touched Chris Layton and why he’s so very good at what he does.
“I remember being interested in working with wood from the time I was about 5 years old,” shared Layton, founder and president of Eastern Shore Kitchens, in Delmar, Del. “In fact, my favorite show when I was a kid was the “New Yankee Workshop.” I remember I couldn’t wait to see what [host] Norm Abram, in his signature flannel shirt, was going to work on next. Otherwise, I watched all the same shows other kids my age watched. But for some strange reason, when it came to woodworking, I was just glued.”
For Layton, the love of wood wasn’t just a passing fancy of his childhood. After he’d graduated from Laurel High School in Delaware and vo-tech in Georgetown, Layton made a B-line for the place that he felt offered him the best apprenticeship opportunity possible.

“After vo-tech, I went to go work with the Amish, in some Mennonite cabinet workshops,” Layton said, “and I was pleased to learn that the stereotype about their craftsmanship is totally true. They really are that good and really care that much. It was a great environment in which to better learn and refine my craft.”
Following a four-year hitch with the United States Coast Guard that coincided with Operation Desert Storm, Layton returned home armed with a heart full of discipline, a head full of knowledge and hands packed with prodigious digits of talent (even though his fingers more closely resemble a string of kielbasa than they do the delicate and sensitive instruments of palpable creativity).
It was actually with his father, in the latter’s construction business, that the younger Layton got to finally ply his trade professionally. Though he’d learned a lot about all aspects of construction, it was in 1994 that Layton was given the green light by his dad to focus on his passion and open a kitchen-and-countertops shop as a division of the family business.
The dawn of the millennium, meanwhile, was one new beginnings for Layton and his wife, Debbie. With deep breaths and eager hearts, Chris and Debbie struck out on their own, hanging out a (probably very well-made) shingle, so to speak, that proclaimed Eastern Shore Kitchens was now open for business.
Needless to say, the response has been fantastic, almost to the point of being overwhelming. Now in its 10th year of operation, Eastern Shore Kitchens has racked up a litany of testimonials that stretch from here to the beach, where, incidentally, ES Kitchens has done many installations and remodels on the multimillion dollar homes that overlook the seascapes of Ocean City, Fenwick Island, Bethany Beach and Rehoboth Beach.
Apparently, though, it’s not just homeowners who petition for his company’s services, as ES Kitchens has a commercial-clients list that easily rivals his residential one.
“Just as with our residential clients,” said Layton, who has a 13-year-old daughter with Debbie, “our commercial clients have been a real source of pride for us. We’re pleased to say we’ve done jobs for UMES, the Hampton Inn in Milford, Nanticoke Hospital, the surgical center at the Mears Health Campus in Seaford, and the FMC Dialysis Center in Salisbury.” In fact, Eastern Shore Kitchen’s services have been requested from as far away as Philadelphia and D.C., where they have seen the successful completion of over 400 jobs.
But don’t think for a moment that Layton and his company have grown too big and in demand to care about your somewhat more down-to-earth job. The truth is that one of Layton’s most important sources of pride is that he and his company routinely take on jobs of all sizes and shapes. The Laytons’ current staff includes a group of wonderful professionals who also have an extreme passion for the business. If you add up the combined years of experience, you’re looking at quite an impressive number of 80.
“We don’t now and we never have discriminated because of the size or cost of a job,” the master cabinetmaker asserted. “We just like bringing quality and beauty into people’s lives, no matter how grand or modest the scale.”
A large portion of that quality and beauty arises from ES Kitchen’s 7,500-square-foot custom cabinet shop, where all the materials are prepped and processed before making their way into your home or commercial building. It is there that all custom cabinets and countertops are built from scratch, by hand. But for those who prefer their surfaces and cabinets from a catalog, ES Kitchens carries the full line of Wellborn cabinetry as well as Atlantis Outdoor cabinets, which seem to be on the rise these days as folks increasingly move their activities outdoors. And as you would expect, ES Kitchen’s line of countertop surfaces runs the gamut, too, from laminates, Silestone and Corian, to granite, marble and just about anything else that’s commercially available. Want wood countertops? No worries. It’s a slam-dunk for Layton and his team of designers at Eastern Shore Kitchens.
But whatever your kitchen and/or bath needs, if it’s craftsmanship, reliability and integrity you’re after, a call to Chris Layton and Eastern Shore Kitchens is guaranteed to be time, and money, well spent. written by
Visit Eastern Shore Kitchens at 38613 Benro Dr., Unit 1, Delmar, Del., 302-846-3842 or 36284 Lankford Hwy., Belle Haven, Va., 757-442-4902, www.easternshorekitchens.com.

Written By: Nick Brandi