by Christy Heitger-Ewing
With so many amazing smart appliances on the market, building or upgrading a kitchen can be an overwhelming experience. Lee Supply, however, helps make the process smooth, seamless, enriching, and educational.
Monogram, GE’s luxury brand, provides an entire line of luxury smart appliances, many of which are on display in Lee Supply’s Carmel Showroom. They sell refrigerators that a) allow you to change the temperature settings from the app, b) alert you to a power outage, and c) tell you whether your ice dispenser is full or empty. They have dishwashers that a) let you access time remaining from your phone, b) track detergent and rinse aids and reorder if you’re low, c) lock and unlock the door, and d) track if something’s preventing you from getting the best wash. Smart cooktops a) monitor burners from anywhere so you know if it’s been left on, b) get timer alerts when simmering or boiling, and c) get notified when the burner is on more than an hour. Smart ovens a) preheat from anywhere, b) set timer alerts, c) notify you when something’s done, and d) change temperature from anywhere. Certain models will let you open the door with voice commands if paired with Alexa.
“In practical terms, preheating the oven while on the way home is one of the most popular features, followed by timer alerts when something’s done cooking so you don’t overcook it,” says Ron Randall, Appliance Division Manager with Lee Supply.
This display is only one of three in the nation, and the only one in Indiana. According to Randall, the hearth oven (initially called the pizza oven) was originally created to bring the massively popular outdoor pizza oven indoors. After Monogram determined how to do that without creating excessive heat, smoke or odors in the home, they softened up the styling and made it sleeker than earlier models.
“They found that many people were using them for a host of applications where high heat for a short time was a great way to cook, be it red meat, fish, vegetables, other breads,” says Randall. “[Therefore,] they rebranded it the hearth oven so people would not be constrained by the label.”
Lee Supply has assembled the finest salespeople from Clark Appliances and the Fine Lines division of hhgregg. As a result, Lee Supply employees’ average experience level is measured in decades, not years.
“You won’t get more knowledgeable salespeople anywhere in the state,” says Randall.
Lee Supply is also unique in the fact that they employ Chef Ben, who left Maggiano’s to become the corporate chef for Clark Appliances in late 2005, making him a well-known fixture in the Indianapolis builder appliance market. In his early days with Clark, he did live cooking demonstrations, cooking classes, and food prep for events. As he became more familiar with the products, he began doing in-home use and care instructions when someone purchased a new kitchen or couldn’t figure out a feature. When Clark Appliances closed in 2014, Bob Clark brought a number of Clark employees to Lee Supply, where he set up the appliance business for Lee before moving on. Chef Ben and the rest of the crew remained, and Ben became the host for almost all Lee Supply events, preparing food and speaking about product lines.
More recently, Ben has progressed into an outside sales role, where his experience in the kitchen helps him speak to what appliances should be included in luxury kitchens. He still hosts select events and is available for scheduling one-on-one consultations for customers, designers, or builders.
“He loves doing the events and instruction because he has a genuine love for food and wants to share it with our customers,” says Randall. “It’s a passion and a vocation – not simply a job for him.”
Visit Lee Supply’s Carmel showroom, located at 415 W. Carmel Drive to choose your cutting edge appliances for your home. For more information, call (317) 844-4434 or visit gotolee.com to schedule an appointment.
