BY KEELIN EVERLY-LANG for WEEKLY VOLCANO | 7/24/2026
“Big box stores hate us,” proclaims a banner on the side of The Floor Trader of Tacoma, located at 7310 South Hosmer Street.
Curious guests who stop in to check out the flooring outlet store might be greeted by Duke the Floor Dog, a friendly black lab who is a very good boy, or a human member of two generations of Paulsons.
The Paulsons have been running the business for over a century and pride themselves on their depth of knowledge, customer service, and ability to center human relationships rather than corporate profits.
The store features a wide variety of flooring options in stock, many of which are priced very low compared to the rest of the market. Company president Dean Paulson said that they’re able to offer these types of discounts because of their strong relationships with their suppliers and keen eye for closeout sales.
His son, Zach, will be taking over the company in the next few years, and they both appreciate the freedom and ability to pivot that being a family-owned business allows them.
As an example, earlier in the day before their interview, Zach had a customer he described as a “little old lady with a cane,” who was just looking for a small piece of carpet for her closet.
Without any corporate headquarters to stop them, Zach was able to give her the piece of carpet for free.
“Most places just throw away everything,” Zach said, but they happened to have a scrap of carpet that would work. The customer was so touched by the kindness of the free piece of carpet that she started crying and gave him a hug.
Going out of their way to take care of customers, employees, and suppliers has built up a strong community, Dean said.
The team was just recently recognized for their contributions as a 2025 Pierce County Volunteer Group Award Winner, an accomplishment that was featured in Floor Covering News. One of their largest community service projects started when Zach visited the clubhouse of the American Lake Veterans Golf Course on the grounds of the American Lake VA Medical Center in Lakewood. The large golf course is completely volunteer-run and serves many disabled veterans, including those who have lost limbs.
As someone who has also lost his legs, Dean said he “fit right in,” and as a company with strong involvement with the military community, the Floor Trader saw an opportunity to give back. Dean reached out to his suppliers and found that many were more than willing to help. Ultimately, he got all of the flooring donated, as well as transportation of the carpet from Oregon and base and glue from another supplier.
He located an installation team, who installed it all for a fair price, and then called up a friend in the painting business to help with a request for a single bathroom to be painted. That friend reached out to a contact at Sherwin-Williams, who donated 80 gallons of their highest-quality paint to repaint the whole interior. Pinnacle Lumber & Plywood then offered around $15,000 of wood and doors.
This outpouring of support comes from their decades and even generations of building relationships in the industry, Dean said, in ways that are just impossible at large corporations. He’s gotten to know all of the reps on a personal level, to the point that they’ll get together for lunch or even go out with him on his boat on American Lake.
They also get together for other acts of kindness, like their yearly Santa Tip Challenge. For the past five years, Dean has coordinated with friends and business associates in the community to pick a restaurant and asked to be assigned to the servers who are having the hardest time financially. Dean and the crew will each go to the restaurant individually and leave a gigantic tip, usually paying with a $100 bill and telling their server to keep the change.
All of this just goes to show the power of the consumer to keep money circulating within your local community by choosing to shop at businesses owned by local people, rather than corporate locations that siphon money to faraway shareholders.
Creating this positive environment and building a community through their customers and suppliers has also ensured that employees tend to stay; Dean’s proud to share that many of his employees have been there for decades. Some of those relationships have even led to love stories, as more than one of the Floor Trader’s employees have met their spouses through friendships that developed over years via customers.
“Growing up in this business, from the womb to the warehouse,” he said, “there’s nothing I haven’t seen. There’s no complaint I haven’t heard.”
While he loves the business, Dean is also looking forward to his next chapter. After Zach takes over, Dean is considering producing some podcast ideas he’s had on his mind. He also enjoys photography and has dabbled in art forms like stained glass. No matter where he goes, he’ll be sure to stay grounded, as the floor is the first thing he notices wherever he goes.
This article paid for by the Hosmer Business Association
