Just before Christmas I had to have my 1950′s O’Keefe and Merritt stove repaired. I was not cooking this year, thank goodness, but just in case, I did not want to wait. I have two ovens and the other one was already in need of attention.
I have had this baby since 1985. It has moved with me five times in 26 years, a couple of times from coast to coast. I got it when I first moved back to Los Angeles from Boston, where I attended college. I had been there five years and wanted to get back to LA like nothing else, I had had enough of the cold. I always come back to LA…always, it is where I was born. And it is where I first cooked on my grandmother’s 1950′s O’Keefe and Merritt, when I was learning to cook with her for the holidays. There is no better cooking machine, in my opinion, than this stove, and I love to cook and I am darn good at it too. This stove is a dear friend and we have had many good times together. If she could talk!
These are the reasons that drove me to find an expert for my repair, and indeed I did in David Aikens, of Aiken’s Furniture in Inglewood, California. I found his name in an artcle in the Los Angeles Times, featuring “The Fixers” in LA By Ariel Swartley. It was a full page feature and I had kept it in a pile on the floor under my coffee table with other articles covering important topics, just waiting for the time to use it! I knew my old girl would need some love and it sounded like David could be the right guy!
Well, from the moment we spoke I felt he would live up to all the great things said about him in the article. But, what I did not know is how much I would enjoy his company as he fixed my stove. He told me a treasure trove of information about these stoves that I think only a stove geek like me would love, and he reinforced my commitment to keeping her for all the reasons I already had.
I have said all this so you will know that I whole heartedly refer you to David Aikens, he specializes in these wonderful stoves. He is honest, he is charming and he does great work. He can fix or restore your antique stove or you can just buy one from him.
Aiken’s Furniture
3667 West Imperial Hwy.
Inglewood, CA 90303
310-672-2620
