Showroom opens in former Manatee tax collector branch

A company that designs kitchens has opened a new showroom near State Road 70 in Manatee County. Quality by Design Kitchens is now located in a space that used to house the Manatee Tax Collector’s Lakewood Ranch branch.

The new showroom is just over 3,000 square feet, according to QBD Kitchens CEO and co-owner Tim Smidlein. It contains multiple full kitchen displays as well as a hidden pantry area.

Since QBD Kitchens was founded in 2019, the business had been based a couple of miles away on nearby Lena Road. While searching for a location with more visibility, Smidlein says, the space at 6007 111th St. E. became available. QBD Kitchens signed the lease in July 2025 and recently completed its renovations.

“Because it was the DMV, it was one big open room,” Smidlein says. Other properties the business considered would have required taking out walls and reconfiguration. At the tax collector’s office, “We just needed to change the surfaces, redo the tile and paint and dress it up a little bit,” Smidlein says. “The space was really perfect for what we were looking for in a showroom, and the location couldn’t be any better.”

Image via Google Maps

When people are redoing their kitchens, Smidlein says, they want to see their options and are often interested in previous projects. To show what the company can do, its new showroom features five full kitchens that QBD Kitchens staff installed themselves. Surrounding the space are quartz countertop samples and multiple types of flooring.

Courtesy image

The renovation process cost “well into six figures,” Smidlein says, noting that the appliances alone cost $100,000. The company made the investment, he adds, so it could show its work to the community.

“We signed a five-year lease with a five-year option, so we plan on being here a long time,” he says. 

Design process

Kitchens are often the most expensive part of a home to remodel and "the most important part," says Smidlein. He flipped houses for seven years before starting QBD Kitchens with co-owner Bobby Dwyer, who he says grew up working in custom cabinets. Together, they and their staff of 10 bring to life customers’ visions for their future kitchens to life.

QBD Kitchens has an in-house designer with a background in interior design who can guide customers. Once people have made their selections and staff has measured their space, the company uses software to create 3D models. Customers are then provided with a VR headset for a preview.

“They’ll be able to stand in the new kitchen” before it is built, Smidlein says. “If you’re moving walls, it’s really helpful to be able to see the space, to see walkways and how they flow into another room.”

Adds Smidlein: “Being in a VR headset is a game-changer — all of our customers absolutely love that part of it.”

Just as it does for clients, QBD Kitchens created a 3D model of its showroom space before undertaking the renovations. 

So far, the response to the new location has been positive, according to Smidlein. The business held a ceremonial grand opening April 18 after being operational for several months. 

Each day, about five or six people still come in looking for the DMV, Smidlein says, so the business created cards that it gives out with the county office's new address, which is at 10705 Technology Terrace. There, the tax collector operates with a larger footprint and updated technology in an office that has consolidated the Lakewood Branch and North River Branch into one East Manatee branch.

QBD Kitchens has “definitely gotten a lot of attention" since moving into the tax collector's former spot, Smidlein says. Even though it is in a standalone building, the space is near a Publix-anchored plaza, which is “helpful,” he adds. "People know it’s here.”