Vision: Loving family homes
Mission: Open Door Memphis exists to provide a full array of construction services. We use our expertise to facilitate long-term home ownership and rentals. We work along side Community Development Corporations and Churches to address the many housing issues in Memphis’ under served communities. Our work is done with excellence and integrity. We care for and take actions to truly help others to bring Jesus Christ glory.
WHO WE ARE
SCOTT BENGTSON
Owner & General Contractor
swbengtson@gmail.com • (901) 831-6277
Scott started Open Door Memphis, LLC in 2012 after many years being a volunteer contractor working with home repair non-profits in Memphis’ older, neglected communities. He wanted to see a full service construction company that could do work any where in Shelby county, but was also willing to work in these neighborhoods. Scott work’s full time for FedEx as a pilot and uses his spare time to help oversee the company while occasionally getting involved with projects.
QUENTIN HOFFMAN
Owner, General Contractor, Carpentry
quentin@opendoormemphis.com •
Quentin has worked with Open Door Memphis since 2013. Born and raised in Kansas, he spent 4 years at Pittsburg State University earning a degree in Plastics Engineering, but soon found his love of carpentry and construction while framing and finishing houses in the years following. He moved to Memphis in 2007 and spent 7 years with the Memphis Fire Department until returning to full-time home building, home repair, renovation, remodeling, but especially framing, in pursuit of doing what he loves.
JOSHUA MINNIS
Owner, General Contractor, Carpentry & Tile
Josh grew up being taught construction by his Dad. He moved to Orange Mound when his parents started Landmark Training and Development Corporation. Josh attended Ridgeway High School. He loves his job and thanks God for the opportunities to do what he loves: working with his hands. He also loves his mom, dad, brothers, sisters, all of his nieces and nephews, and raw vegetables.
TESTIMONIALS
Open Door Memphis takes customer satisfaction very seriously.
Here are some comments from our customers:
“Open Door Memphis was extremely helpful in working with my family on the recent addition to our house. I am grateful for their leadership and hard work as they made sure all the small details were taken care of during the renovation. Not only were they friendly and trustworthy, but they did a great job on the house. We added about 550 square feet to our house (a bedroom, bathroom, and dining area) and they were attentive to all the details we wanted for our home. I definitely would recommend them to build, renovate, or add on to your home.” Chris
“About a year ago, we met a couple of 15 year old twins from across the street. We began to develop a relationship with them, their father, and their uncle. As time went on, we began to discover that they’re home life was pretty rough. Abuse and neglect were the norm. We are now to the point that they are about to move in on a full time basis. In tandem with this, with our extra space, we are fostering 3 children. This work is challenging and rewarding….but takes square footage. None of this would have happened, had Open Door Memphis not opened the door! We didn’t have the house size, the location, or the relationships needed to undertake this before ... but this Orange Mound home has been a key tool allowing this to happen. We clearly see God’s hand in this, and in your company.” Ron Fahrner
“When we found a formerly beautiful 100 year old house (in Annesdale Historic District) that had been severely damaged and left abandoned for five years, we knew we needed to hire a company that would have the skill and experience to help us renovate it. More than that, we needed to find a company that would think outside the box with us in order to stay within our very tight budget. Most importantly we were looking for a company with integrity that we could trust to walk through the extensive and risky project. We found all of this in Open Door Memphis, and couldn't be more pleased with the end product. From the beginning the men from Open Door Memphis were on our team, and worked tirelessly to help us accomplish the vision we had for restoring the home.” Brandon
“Today my Kitchen, living room, dining room and den have been completely restored from a busted/frozen pipe. When I think of the past 2 months working with Open Door, I think of quality work, strong attention to detail, kind and considerate crew, and new friends. Thanks guys!!!!” Kathleen Nobbman
OUR HISTORY
The story behind Open Door Memphis
In 2006, Scott Bengtson, spent a day repairing a home with Marlon “Big Dog” Brown of Service Over Self (SOS) that opened his eyes and heart to the people who live in poor, urban areas. Scott found that while meeting the physical need of someone through home repair, it opened the door to sharingand experiencing the love of Jesus Christ. Scott began volunteering his time with SOS doing construction projects and over saw a few other “side” projects for SOS. He also spent 3 years on the board of directors of SOS.
In 2007, Scott and Nancy met Rev. Reggie and Mary Tucker of Orange Mound Outreach Ministry (OMOM). In the fall of 2008, the Tuckers began renting an old funeral home in Orange Mound for their after school program for neighborhood kids. Reggie called Scott to ask if this old building could be renovated. After walking through and praying over an empty shell of a building with only some electrical working, they said let’s see what God can do. Slowly but surely, one volunteer after another came, one room at a time, and the building became a home for many area youth. During this renovation, Scott got to work along side volunteers from the Memphis Union Mission’s drug and alcohol rehabilitation program which gave him the idea of using a job as a way to build relationships with others.
In 2009, Scott began volunteering at Advance Memphis which does job training for residents of the 38126 zip code area. Advance Memphis encourages their staff to live in the neighborhood and works with their graduates to establish Individual Development Accounts (matched savings) to help them become home owners or go to school.
God used these experiences to lay on Scott’s heart a desire to find ways to renovate more “homes” while providing jobs for people who might not get a second chance. Many hours were spent praying and planning with Big Dog and others about starting the company and whether it should be a non-profit ministry or a business. In the end, a business was decided upon and formed to be a place where staff and graduates of area ministries (and others) can go for “real world” help in “owning” their own home. The urban poor need more businesses to care about truly helping them in a two way business relationship and not a one way charity handout. We pray that lives will be changed for Christ’s glory as people take “ownership” of their homes and their lives. Thank you for your business which allows us to accomplish all of this.
Things came full circle in 2013, when Quentin Hoffman became another Owner. Quentin and Scott initially met during the first summer camp of SOS114 in Orange Mound. Quentin had been doing numerous construction projects for friends during his time off from the Memphis Fire Department. He now runs the framing side of the company.