The Finishing Touch rebrands as TFT Design on Central Avenue

The Finishing Touch has traded its Central Park Square address for a storefront on Central Avenue, a move that puts the home-furnishings business next to Boomerang Consignment at 1247-B Central Ave. The new spot is meant to make the shop easier to see and easier to reach, a practical adjustment in a small retail market where foot traffic and curb appeal can shape how often customers walk through the door. Along with the move, owners Marcelo Ruano and Julio Gaytan shortened the name to TFT Design.

The name change was not meant to signal a change in the business itself. TFT Design still offers flooring, cabinets, window coverings, countertops and full kitchen-and-bath design services, keeping the same core mix that has long served Los Alamos homeowners and remodelers. The company’s website says it works with homeowners, commercial businesses, professional installers and do-it-yourselfers, a broad customer base that helps explain why a more visible address could matter.

Ruano and Gaytan have owned the business since November 2017, when they took over from Cheryl Sowder after she operated The Finishing Touch for more than 38 years. Since then, the business has already shown a willingness to move for space and access. It previously relocated to 170 Central Park Square, where the showroom was larger than the earlier location. The latest move suggests a different calculation now: not just more room, but a place on a corridor where shoppers already pass by.

That matters on Central Avenue, where storefront placement can determine whether a business catches a quick stop or gets missed entirely. The Los Alamos Chamber of Commerce has noted that 1247 Central Avenue began as a motor pool building in the early 1960s and was later used by Zia Corporation, giving the address a long commercial history. Today, that same building houses multiple businesses, with Boomerang Consignment at 1247 Central Ave. #A and TFT Design next door, a setup that can create the kind of shared traffic independent retailers depend on.

Ruano has said the company has weathered a difficult economy in recent years, but the owners still believe the community needs these services and want to keep serving Los Alamos. The business also keeps a larger showroom open in Santa Fe at 3675 Cerrillos Rd., giving it a second base while the Central Avenue location anchors its local presence. In a town where visibility, parking and convenience all affect how people start a project, the move signals continuity, not retreat.