NORWICH – For 47 years, Giltner’s has been serving the local community’s decorating needs by offering the finest of paints, wall coverings, tile, flooring and carpet. Now, with the second generation at the helm, the family-owned business is embarking on the next phase of its history.

On Sept. 1, the store’s long-time proprietor, Phil Giltner, turned over the keys to the business he purchased when he was just 19, to his son Mathew.

The younger Giltner said he always respected his father’s tenacity in purchasing the store in 1963, at the tender age of 19. In those early days, the shop occupied roughly 600 square feet of space on Hayes Street, from which Phil specialized in paint and painting supplies. Within a few years, he outgrew the space, however, and moved to its present 43 South Broad St. location. With close to 9,000 square feet to work with, the business expanded into the “decorating superstore” it bills itself as today.

Following in his father’s footsteps wasn’t something Mathew had planned. After graduating from Norwich High School, he pursued a liberal arts degree and then entered the Coast Guard.