Chris Kushmaul, owner of Restoration of Western Wayne County and Restoration 1 of Metro Detroit, went into the disaster cleanup business because he wanted to continue providing service to others, not unlike his experience in the U.S. Army.
“It really came down to finding a business that I thought I could make a difference with,” Kushmaul says. “Doing restoration work is a lot like the work we did in the military. You come in in the middle of a crisis, you calm things down, and you help people.”
Kushmaul enlisted in the Army out of high school in 1989 and was recruited during basic training to join the Old Guard, the ceremonial escort to the president. Among the highlights of that service was opening a limousine door for former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev and guarding the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at Arlington National Cemetery when the regular Tomb Guards were attending a holiday party.
“It was the middle of the night, and I was freezing my tail off, but it was an honor,” Kushmaul says of his one-time tomb service.
He left the Army after Operation Desert Storm, went to college at the University of Michigan, joined the ROTC program, and returned to the Army as a commissioned officer, serving in the 82nd Airborne in Kosovo.
Kushmaul currently has six employees, three of whom are veterans. He’s earned U.S. Department of Labor Platinum Awards for hiring vets three years in a row.
“I look to hire veterans every chance I get,” he says. “Anytime I can work with another vet, even (from) other companies, I jump at the chance. There are a couple of plumbing companies I work with (that are) owned by vets.”
His combined operations recorded $1.2 million in revenue in 2023. Restoration 1’s primary focus is water damage mitigation, including mold removal and dealing with the after-effects of fire and smoke damage.
“Anytime there’s a big flood like we had in August, we’ll be working water damage calls for at least 30 days, then it transitions into calls for mold,” he explains.
Among some of the company’s major projects have been post-fire work at a Walgreens in Southfield and a CVS in Detroit. Kushmaul’s team also performed numerous COVID-19 cleanings during the pandemic.
“It’s rewarding work,” Kushmaul says. “The homeowner or business owner doesn’t know who to turn to or what to do next, and we’ve got the experience to coach them through all of the processes.”
