I’m Joe Bell & improving the retail flooring experience has been my mission since I was 21 years old.
We understand this is a big & confusing purchase. Finding just the right design can take a few trips and more than a few questions.
As the 3rd generation Mr. Bell my mission is to get you the answers you need, the styles you want, and be a partner you can count on, just like we always have.
Our Story
Our great grandfather and grandfather had been cabinet makers and book sellers respectively, but created Bell Floor Covering in 1936 to answer Philadelphia's need for flooring.
The cabinet shop opened at 1050 N. 2nd Street in the 1910s and adjacent book store opened in the 1920s. They were on the first floor and our family lived upstairs, everyone who could worked in one of the stores. At the time, 2nd street in Northern Liberties, was known as "Linoleum Lane", a bustling street full of flooring stores. After years of the depression, it only made sense to shift our expertise into what was selling—Bell Floor Covering was born.
By the late 1960s, when Harvey Bell came to work under his father, Bell Floor Covering had become a staple in this neighborhood. To meet the growing demand within greater Philadelphia, Harvey oversaw the addition of a warehouse in nearby Fishtown so we could offer more product more quickly to all of Philadelphia. After assuming ownership of the business in the early 80s, Harvey became president of the Delaware Valley Flooring Association, swelling its numbers to their greatest counts to date. He initiated contracts with City Hall, Septa, and Veteran’s Stadium, became a leader in the Northern Liberties Neighborhood Association, and donated goods and services to area schools for low income students. Come the 1990s, Harvey had grown Bell Floor Covering into one of the largest service-oriented flooring retail operations in our region, now the sole flooring business remaining on "Linoleum Lane".
In 2000, as the city was at the doorstep of a new building renaissance, Harvey's son Joe came to work at Bell Floor Covering. With the demand for more diverse, technologically advanced, and cost-effective flooring options than ever before, Joe modernized our inventory and created programs to provide customer-centric service to industry professionals and homeowners alike.
Today, Joe Bell runs Bell Floor Covering with help from his wife Allison, plus a team of seasoned industry experts who round out our extended flooring family. Operating out of the same storefront on 2nd street as our ancestors, we take the greatest pride in guiding today's homeowners and industry professionals to the right flooring and providing grade A customer service.
Entrance life, late ‘40s
The Bell Floor Family
As seen on DIY Network’s “Philly Revival” with Rachel Street!
