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Nail City Painting Helping To Revitalize Wheeling

WHEELING — Kyle Kinkead started his Nail City Painting business a week before the COVID-19 pandemic was declared in 2020, but that didn’t stop him from getting his businesses going.

He started out going door to door in Woodsdale to let people know about his services, which include interior and exterior painting.

“I knocked on doors for the first year,” Kinkead said. “I did it with a couple other people. And then we started Facebook posts, online ads, yard signs as well as a bit of word of mouth. … I would not have done anything different. I’m not one to run away.”

Fast-forward to today and Nail City Painting has worked on 100 different properties in Wheeling alone. Some likely have noticed their colorful handiwork in North Wheeling on several of the historic properties there. One example is Carlito’s Soul Food Kitchen in North Wheeling.

The company is not afraid to tackle the intricate details that adorn many of the North Wheeling properties, sometimes using three to four colors on one facade.

“I really like the history and the architecture,” he said of Wheeling. “We get to play a heavy hand in seeing it come back to where it should be. I’m passionate about that as well. We get to work on some really cool properties.”

Kinkead, a Wheeling resident, is originally from Ridgeway, Pennsylvania.

He first came to Wheeling to work at the Ryan Ferns Sports Complex as a kinesiologist. While he still believes in the work the complex is doing, he decided to leave that position and start Nail City Painting by using his background in construction and painting.

The company now employs 15 people. Some come to the job with experience and others are taught how to paint precisely.

“Our people do a great job. I can’t say enough about the people who work with us,” he said.

Kinkead said the company has been enjoying bringing the structures back to life one job at a time.

“In a lot of cases some of the character has been lost to time with the paint flaking off. There are various levels of decay in a lot of cases, too,” he noted.

Kinkead said it takes time and patience to paint the gingerbread on many of the buildings.

“There’s more time involved to make it nice and not look sloppy,” he said.

Kinkead said his company also does color consulting to help people pick hues that are complementary to a building’s ornate features or that may be historic.

The majority of their indoor work is done during winter months, while exterior work is conducted during warm weather months. This schedule allows his employees, whom he calls craftspeople, to work year-round and have a steady career and not just a job.

“We’re looking forward to beautifying Wheeling as a whole. We’re hoping to grow substantially over the coming years,” Kinkead said.

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