The Silver Queen

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Largo, Fla.
Revenue: $4 million to $6 million
Employees: 19 full-time; 3 part-time

Art and Pat Arbutine opened a coin shop in 1972 in Belleair Bluffs, Fla., and the couple bought and sold silver in the shop as well. But the brisk business in silver, china, and crystal took on a life of its own, and the family moved it in 2002 to a 4,500-square-foot showroom in Largo. Greg Arbutine, the founders' son, took over as CEO in 1990 at age 25, and at the time the business was bringing in around $400,000 a year in sales. Greg soon brought that above $1 million, and the store has continued to prosper in a shrinking marketplace for silver. "The industry as a whole is definitely contracting as people's tastes shift away from silver and more formal stuff," Arbutine says. "We just always try to distinguish ourselves and always offer good product diversity." That means carrying 12,000 patterns and 165,000 individual items. Although 90% of sales come from the top 1,000 patterns, the breadth makes the Silver Queen a destination for collectors or people looking for replacements or add-ons to silver, china, or crystal sets. "We really capitalize on getting repeat customers and VIP customers who come back to us year after year," says Arbutine.