Owners Jake Heydlauff and Jason Aguirre in their new demonstration kitchen. | Photo: J. Adrian Wylie

A lot has changed in the appliance industry since Jake Heydlauff’s great-grandfather Lloyd sold wringer washing machines door-to-door. From Speed Queen front-loading washers to Sub-Zero temperature-controlled wine storage columns, the inventory at Heydlauff’s Appliances has evolved since its founding in 1928.

In September, Jake, age thirty-five, helped launch the store’s latest iteration: a “living showroom” designed by Madison, Wisconsin–based Sub-Zero. It features the brand’s namesake refrigerators, enormous, commercial-style Wolf ranges, and refrigerators and dishwashers that accept custom cabinetry panels to make them disappear into the walls. Heydlauff’s hosts a local chef the third Saturday of each month to demonstrate the appliances.

“We always wanted a larger showroom,” explains Jake, whose family business has been on Main St. next to the Jiffy factory since 1933. When Village Hair Studio closed next door, the Heydlauffs “made a hole in the brick wall” and expanded into the space.

Jake worked for Heydlauff’s part-time in high school and college and got his degree from EMU. “My dad never pushed it on us,” says Jake, who has two older brothers who don’t work for the store, “but business was growing a lot, and it kind of stuck.”

After working for Heydlauff’s full-time for twelve years, Jake now owns the store with Jason Aguirre, a friend since high school. Over the years, they’ve learned “every facet of the business” together, Aguirre says, including five years driving a Heydlauff’s delivery truck.

Jake’s father Mark will continue to be an advisor and consultant as the family makes the transition in ownership. Working from his office in the back of the new showroom, Mark says Heydlauff’s continues to offer “all different price points” to customers. They still sell some “scratch and dent” models in the basement, and they’re a big GE dealer; there’s a GE fridge on the sales floor for $599. They realize, he says, that the luxury brands are “not for everyone.”

Heydlauff’s Appliances, 113 N. Main St., Chelsea. (734) 475–1221. Mon.–Fri. 9 a.m.–5 p.m., Sat. 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Closed Sun. heydlauffs.com