Nearly 40 Years of Showing Up: The Chemmark of East Texas Story | Family-Owned Since 1987
There's a version of this story that starts with a product line, a service territory, and a list of what Chemmark of East Texas offers restaurants across Southeast Texas.
But that's not really the story.
The real story starts with Bill Gilliland, a belief that local businesses deserve a local partner who actually shows up, and nearly four decades of proving that the simplest commitments — be reliable, be responsive, be there — are also the most powerful ones.
How It Started: Bill Gilliland and 1987
In 1987, Bill Gilliland founded Chemmark of East Texas to serve the commercial cleaning needs of restaurants in the northern Houston area — Tomball, Montgomery, Spring, The Woodlands. The region was growing, the restaurant industry was growing with it, and Bill saw an opportunity to build something that those restaurant owners genuinely needed: a local partner they could count on.
From the beginning, the model was built around relationships. Not transactions. Not call centers and national accounts. Actual relationships with actual restaurant owners — people who were building something they were proud of and who needed a partner with the same standard.
Bill was proud of what he built. That pride wasn't about scale or revenue. It was about the kind of company Chemmark was — the kind that answered the phone, showed up on time, and solved problems instead of creating new ones.
Growing with Houston
Houston grew. And Chemmark of East Texas grew with it.
What started as a focused operation in the northern suburbs expanded steadily as the region itself expanded — following the restaurants, the operators, and the communities that were building something worth serving. Today, Chemmark serves Southeast Texas and the upper Gulf Coast of Louisiana, supporting restaurants from independent operators to high-volume establishments across the region.
Through all of it, the core of the business stayed the same. Local. Responsive. Relationship-driven. The territory got bigger. The commitment didn't change.
What Family-Owned Actually Means in Practice
Family-owned is a phrase that gets used a lot. It's worth saying what it actually means at Chemmark of East Texas.
It means the people making decisions about how to serve you are the same people whose name is on the business. It means there's no corporate escalation chain between a problem and a solution. It means when you call, someone who knows your kitchen and your machine is on the other end of the line.
It means a two-hour service response isn't a policy written in a brochure — it's a standard that the people running this company hold themselves to personally, because their reputation in this community is built on it.
It also means long-term relationships. Chemmark has customers who have been with the company for decades — restaurant owners who called Bill Gilliland in the early years and are still calling the same number today. That kind of loyalty runs both ways. Chemmark values its long-time customers, its team members, and the community it serves. Simply put — we value people.
Our Mission, Our Values, Our People
The mission at Chemmark of East Texas is straightforward: to make the dish area the easiest part of a restaurant owner's day.
That sounds simple. Delivering on it consistently — shift after shift, year after year, through equipment issues and staffing changes and the full chaos of a busy service — is anything but. It requires the right equipment, the right chemicals, the right team, and the right culture.
The values that guide Chemmark haven't changed since 1987. Reliability — show up, do what you said you'd do, every time. Responsiveness — when something goes wrong, be there fast. Care — for the customers, for the team, for the community. These aren't aspirational statements. They're operational standards.
The team that carries out those standards is the real asset. The people who install the machines, service the equipment, deliver the chemicals, and answer the phones are the reason Chemmark's customers call back. A company is only as good as the people running it — and that's something Bill Gilliland understood from day one.
What Hasn't Changed in Nearly 40 Years
A lot has changed in the restaurant industry since 1987. Technology, menus, customer expectations, the economics of running a kitchen — all of it looks different than it did when Chemmark opened its doors.
What hasn't changed is what restaurant owners actually need from a dish machine partner. They need equipment that works. They need chemicals that perform. They need service that shows up fast when something goes wrong. And they need a local team that knows their kitchen, their water, and their volume — not a 1-800 number and a three-day service window.
That's what Chemmark of East Texas has always offered. And it's what we'll keep offering — to every restaurant owner in Southeast Texas and the upper Gulf Coast who wants a partner who actually shows up.
Nearly 40 years in, we're just getting started.
Want to learn more about what Chemmark of East Texas can do for your restaurant? Call us at (281) 290-6801 or visit http://chemmarktx.com/contact . Same-day delivery. 2-hour service response. Family-owned since 1987.