In 1967, SERVPRO® began as a painting business owned by Ted and Doris Isaacson in Sacramento, California. Within a short time, they leveraged their background in cleaning and restoration to grow their company by offering franchises in the cleanup and restoration industry. They sold their first franchise in 1969, and SERVPRO grew steadily. Ten years later, they were able to acquire the Bristol-Myers Domesticare division and its 175 franchises. By 1988, the Isaacsons had built SERVPRO into a thriving company with 647 locations. They decided it was time for further expansion and relocated the company from Sacramento to the Metro Nashville area. This strategic move put SERVPRO in a more centrally located area within 600 miles of 50 percent of the U.S. population. It wasn’t long before SERVPRO proved itself to be a major asset to its new community, and it was named the “Small Business of the Year” by the Nashville Business Journal in 1991.