The Granite Guy, Farmington, N.M.

Marquez packed up his shop three years ago and left the din of Southern California for the wide-open spaces of the Four Corners area of the southwest United States – and brought his employees along.

There’s been some cultural shock along the way, of course. For one thing, Marquez observes, “It gets cold here in the winter.” However, the move has also translated into time for outdoor activities and more family time with his 12-year-old daughter.

And, he adds, with little competition, people in four states have been warming up to what his company,The Granite Guy, has to offer in terms of hand-fabricated stonework and great customer service.

CALIFORNIA ROOTS

It takes a lot to move many people away from where they were born and raised; Ernie Marquez is no exception. However, for Marquez and spouse Cathy, a little divine guidance didn’t hurt.

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Marquez is a San Diego native. When the couple first decided to get away from the city, their move was fairly modest: they relocated to a small ranch outside the city.

The early part of Marquez’s working career involved general construction; he was a homebuilder, and it’s probably not surprising that as time went on he – and his clients – developed an interest in granite.

His first granite customer was himself.

“Back in the early 1990s, I decided I wanted to put granite in one of my homes that I was living in at the time,” he says. “I have friends that do tile, and they’d messed around with granite a little bit. They weren’t granite guys, but they ended up at my house cutting granite.”

Marquez liked the look, but as he says, almost two decades ago, “It was pretty expensive back then.”

However, as the early ‘90s became the late ‘90s, interest grew and prices came down. And, Marquez began to have home clients who talked to him about granite.

“I found a guy who was transporting granite,” Marquez says. “Since we lived close to the border, he was transporting granite to Mexico and getting it fabricated in Tijuana. Then, he’d bring it back to the states and sell it.