Diverse Backgrounds Produce Partners Carving A Business Out Of Stone 12%
By Kathy Laughlin0%
8/2/2026, 2:02:50 AM
BS Summary: This article contains 7 faulty reasoning types, including Optimism Bias, Availability Heuristic, and Attempt to Sell a Product or Service, with Halo Effect as the most egregious example at 18.4% saturation with 188 hits. Analysis detected 524 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,022 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 23.9% and a BS Rank of 12% (22,425 of 25,294 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 88.70% of the article peer group.
Miguel Lopez and Andres Arbelaez, immigrants from Honduras and Colombia, founded Blue Ridge Granite in Easley.
The company focuses on high-quality, detailed stone fabrication and installation, unlike previous high-volume employers.
Blue Ridge Granite keeps all 16 employees in-house to ensure accountability and better customer service.
Miguel Lopez and Andres Arbelaez founded Blue Ridge Granite two years ago in Easley.
They cut, fabricate, and install granite and other stone for everything from home kitchens to Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport.
But the story is more personal.
Miguel and his wife, Laura, and Andres wrote about their experiences and call it “Built on Belief.”
“Leaving your country and setting out with a few dollars and a dream is difficult,” the narrative says.
“But Miguel (from Honduras) and Andres (from Colombia) didn’t come to the United States simply to hold down a job.
They were driven to build something they could be proud to call their own, something their families would recognize as worth the sacrifice.”
Andres came about five years ago to join his extended family, to find a better, safer quality of life, and to give his children opportunities that aren’t always available in Colombia, says Laura, who was born and raised in Greenville.
“It’s easier to grow here,” she explains.
Miguel left Honduras with his parents' blessing to attend Bob Jones University.
He graduated in 2021.
Did he intend to stay in the U.S.?
“Not at all,” he says.
“My intention was to go back and help in the family business.”
Love won out.
He met Laura at BJU, and they married.
“I stayed here.”
Both men have Permanent Resident Cards (also known as “green cards”) and have applied for citizenship.
They founded Blue Ridge Granite after working for another countertop manufacturer in the Upstate.
Miguel was general manager; Andres was the lead fabricator.
Miguel has a business background from working at his family’s company, which sells party supplies such as piñatas, toys and candy.
He majored in business entrepreneurship at BJU.
Andres has “many more years of experience” in the countertop industry, Miguel says.
The two co-workers became good friends and together envisioned a different business approach than their employer for cutting and fabricating stones and installing countertops in homes and businesses.
“It was a very production-based company.
High volume, really fast work,” Miguel says.
He says he and Andres want to focus on details and high-end projects.
“We're inside people's houses.
It’s a very personal relationship.
I wanted to provide really great service and great quality.”
To achieve their goals, Miguel says that he and Andres needed to control the hiring, the process, the machinery, the installation.
“That's why we started Blue Ridge Granite,” he says.
At their previous employer, one person took a measurement and sent it to production, which then cut the stone and delivered it to third-party installers who were not on staff, Laura says.
No one wanted to take responsibility if mistakes happened, she says.
“We cut that middleman out.
The installer can call Miguel or call the project manager – anybody – and solve the problem.
We treat our employees well.
They're not scared to talk to us.
When projects have problems, because things happen, we can solve them right away,” she says.
The 16 employees at Blue Ridge Granite are on payroll; nothing is outsourced.
“We’ll exchange a countertop if somebody's not happy.
Even if it means there's a loss in this project, it doesn't matter.
We're here for the long run.
We want to build a reputation, and we can only do that by guaranteeing that every customer is really happy,” Miguel says.
Work weeks of 50 to 60 hours are common.
“We're working the day before Christmas and the day after Christmas,” says Laura, who manages social media and marketing.
Business slows in January and February.
“But it jumps back up in March, and we’re at 60 hours a week,” she explains.
Blue Ridge Granite averages 18 projects each week, Miguel says, and he welcomes the progress the business has made in two years.
“If you are passionate, you can put in 80 hours in one week, and you're going to enjoy it and do it very well,” he says.
“You're going to educate yourself.
You're going to think, ‘How can I be better?
How can I deliver a much better product?’
And if you have a great product and great customer service, business will follow.”
Miguel says educating the client is another important part of the business.
They talk to customers as they walk around their lot, which has about 30 samples of different stones.
“We tell them what stones are better, which ones are more fragile, which ones will be better in an outdoor space or indoor space.
That way, there are no surprises on the job site.
We give everybody an educational paper that explains the stones, the challenges of installing new countertops, the things that can come up in construction,” Miguel says.
Contractors, homeowners and business owners can pick from the inventory at Blue Ridge or choose a stone anywhere from any supplier and have it delivered.
The company doesn’t only work with granite.
Employees are trained to work with marble, dolomite and quartzite as well as engineered stones like quartz, porcelain, and Dekton (a trademarked product).
In addition to more common uses, Blue Ridge Granite has fabricated stone surfaces for shower walls, including the ceilings, backsplashes, outdoor kitchens, fireplaces, and even to encircle swimming pools or decorate the exterior wall of a home.
Besides GSP Airport, work sites have included restaurants, medical offices, fire stations and many colleges in the area, including Clemson University.
Homeowners can call the company directly and request a free consultation.
Miguel says stone is cut with a CNC water jet, which is safer for employees and more precise.
“We have great equipment,” he says.
“We're a local, owner-operated company that focuses on educating customers and providing high-quality products.”
Laura echoes the sentiment: “We're here.
We want to do your project well, in a good amount of time for a reasonable price.
We really care.”
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