“Our new showroom is creating a lot of excitement in the design community because it gives us the space to showcase various design ideas that incorporate a multitude of color, texture and finishes,” said Elliot Uchitelle, managing partner. “Designers now have a place to bring clients where they can see and experience the impact of natural stone and appreciate the value it brings to a building -- whether it's a corporate conference room, an entrance or patio or a family kitchen, bath or fireplace surround.”

The showroom features more than 35 different 10- x 10-foot floor designs and hundreds of stone samples from Brazil, Italy, Mexico, Greece, India, China, Turkey, Spain, Portugal and points beyond, according to Global Granite & Marble. The warehouse accommodates an almost $3 million inventory of more than 6,000 slabs of granite and stone plus 500,000 square feet of natural stone tiles available for viewing and selection. This selection includes at least 60 varieties of marble, 160 varieties of granite and over 300 different colors of stone, the company reports.

The showroom is open to architects, designers, builders, fabricators, installers and consumers. While Global Granite & Marble does not sell directly to the public, it welcomes consumers who are working with residential homebuilders, architects or designers. Other commercial customers include developers, building owners, general contractors, masonry subcontractors and fabricators.

In addition to Uchitelle, other partners in the company include David Havens, Mike Pontello, Christian Condit and Alex Habr, a civil engineer and a resident of Mazraat, Lebanon, who “commutes” around the world for Global Granite.

A few of the projects for which Global Granite & Marble has imported and supplied natural stone, include The Westin Hotel and the Forest Park Grand Basin -- both in St. Louis; the Museum of Art in Toledo, OH; the Suburban Bank in Chicago, IL; the Time Warner Building in Austin, TX; the CTG Building in Springfield, IL; the Concept Center in Troy, MI; and the Sevens Building, Commerce Bank and Merrill Lynch Center -- all in Clayton, MO.