Who we are
Here at John G. Mitchell, Inc., our Palm Beach County roots run deep.
Thank you for stopping by our website. My name is Brett Elhilow, owner of John G. Mitchell, Inc., and I’d like to give you a little history of our company.
West Palm Beach native John G. Mitchell – a graduate of Forest Hill High School and Florida Atlantic University – founded his general contracting firm in 1980, converting my grandparents old dairy barn into a shop and office. John and my mother were high school friends, growing up together in West Palm Beach. Later, in the mid 90’s, he purchased a home built by his grandfather in 1925. He extensively renovated the house into the comfortable offices where we still welcome clients today.
When John passed away in 2011, he left behind countless dear friends, as well as a general contracting firm built on a solid foundation of superior craftsmanship, ethics, and a strong record of community service.
After John’s passing, Ken Lewis, the Operations Manager for over 30 years, took ownership. Ken, a Florida native as well, owned the business until 2018 when I took ownership.
I am also a 2nd generation West Palm Beach native. I earned a BS from FSU in political science and another BS from FAMU in landscape design. I started with John and Ken in 1991 shortly after graduating from college. I worked here for 8 years before leaving and starting my own construction business. I owned a successful construction company, doing the same type of work, when Ken Lewis called because he was retiring. I merged my business with John G. Mitchell, Inc. and took ownership. We kept the business name in John’s honor. Ken only asked that I run the business with the same integrity he and John had. I believe I have upheld his request and John would be proud of the legacy he created. Many of John’s original employees are still with us today. Life is funny - some 35 years later, I now own the company I started with as a carpenter. The circle of life.
We specialize in the construction, renovation and remodeling of luxury residences. Our central geographical market is the Town of Palm Beach, and virtually all of our jobs are sold by referral. The homes we construct range in size from bungalows to large estates, and our renovations run the gamut from kitchen remodeling through whole-house gut and rebuild.
But, what we do is only part of our story. How we conduct ourselves is equally important, and we believe we’re only as good as what our most recent customer says about us.
The cornerstone of our philosophy continues to be customer service. We always do our best, do what we say we’ll do, and perform in a timely manner. We still complete almost all jobs without contracts, because a meeting of the minds and a firm handshake are more important to us than any document.
We look forward to hearing from you and working together on your next project.
John, we thank and miss you.
Sincerely,
Brett Elhilow, President