Albuquerque’s Dreamstyle Remodeling shuts down; founder vows to buy it back

Dreamstyle Remodeling, the Albuquerque company that went on to expand across the West, has shut down all operations, according to people familiar with the decision.

Dreamstyle, a full home renovation company, was founded in Albuquerque in 1989 by Larry Chavez and Joyce Hitchner.

Chavez sold the company to a private equity firm in late 2021, he said. At the time of the sale, Dreamstyle had around 750 employees, including about 250 in New Mexico. Dreamstyle lists nine locations across New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, California, Colorado and Idaho on its website.

Chavez said he learned Tuesday from former employees that the company had shut down. By Wednesday, Chavez said he intended to buy back the company and resurrect it, starting with operations in New Mexico.

“I know they’ve been struggling,” Chavez said. “We’re going to rescue it.”

Chavez said he wasn’t sure of the legal particulars, but that he “intended to buy it back one way or another.”

“We spent 35 years building that business and that brand,” he said. “It’s pretty dear to me.”

Audax Private Equity acquired Dreamstyle along with two other home renovation companies — Remodel USA out of Maryland and Alure Home Solutions on Long Island — and merged the three businesses to create Renovo Home Partners, based in Dallas, according to a news release from January 2022.

A spokesperson for Audaux told the Journal the firm hasn’t owned Dreamstyle or Renovo since early this year. Renovo was picked up by investment giant BlackRock thereafter.

A total of six Renovo-owned home improvement companies, including Dreamstyle, ceased operations as of Tuesday, Chavez said.

On a February earnings call, BlackRock officials noted that Renovo’s performance had declined amid softened demand for home repair and remodeling due to inflation. BlackRock added Renovo to nonaccrual status that same month, indicating that Renovo was having difficulty repaying loans.

A BlackRock spokesperson declined to comment on Dreamstyle.

Since 2017, Dreamstyle has been involved in several lawsuits as both plaintiff and defendant, according to state and federal court filings. In 2022, Dreamstyle was awarded more than $7 million to resolve a federal lawsuit alleging that an out-of-state manufacturer illegally terminated its contract with the company.

Last year, Delaware-based insurer Everest Premier Insurance Co. sued Dreamstyle for $212,144 for nonpayment, though the lawsuit was dismissed.

Calls to Dreamstyle offices in New Mexico and Arizona went unanswered Tuesday.