Tom Mizzoni & Dekko: The Partnership Behind the Montblanc Storefront

From Fireplace to Showpiece: Tom Mizzoni's Journey with Dekko

Following in his father's footsteps, Tom Mizzoni built a strong background in heavy civil construction, land development and concrete in Vaughan, Ontario. Eight years ago, he went out on his own as a general contractor, taking on commercial projects and residential renovations around Toronto.

Tom first learned about Dekko Concrete during a home renovation in Etobicoke, when a client asked him to install a Dekko product on a fireplace. After watching a few tutorials, Tom and his lead installer completed the job and sent a photo to Dekko representative Bryann, who praised the work and offered him another project. One project became many, and about four years ago, Tom began focusing exclusively on Dekko installations.

He has watched the product evolve firsthand over that time, with more consistent color, flatter panels and more uniform thickness. With his heavy concrete background, Tom is a tough critic, but he says Dekko passes the test.

“You go downtown to any high-rise office tower in the city of Toronto, and you're going to find a concrete shear wall that's exposed in the lobby, atrium or food court. I look at that all the time, and I'm going, ‘You know, that looks like Dekko’. Dekko cladding has nailed it to a T, and that's why we love the product so much.”

Each job is a joint effort. Tom sends precise site measurements to the Dekko team, which custom designs the panels to fit. Once the color and design are approved, he follows the order through production and shipping, and his crew installs them.

Tom’s partnership with Dekko has led to some standout projects. At the Ashbridges Bay Sewage Treatment Plant, his team installed a 65-foot atrium wall using custom strapping, specialized scaffolding and an engineered hoisting system. 

At the Rogers Centre, they installed custom 10-by-10-foot, 3/4-inch ash panels with the Blue Jays' engraved logo. Tom has even brought bespoke design underground in a private Toronto garage, lining a basement showroom where a car elevator lowers luxury vehicles.

Whether high-profile commercial sites or custom residential showcases, Tom and his team have proven there’s virtually no space Dekko panels can’t transform.

Project Spotlight: The Montblanc Storefront

When Dekko reached out about the Montblanc storefront inside Yorkdale Mall, Tom immediately met with the team and secured the installation job. 

After years of working together, he knew the product and process well enough to take it on. The result is now one of Dekko's favorite installations.

The Challenge ‍

Every installation has its hurdles, and the Montblanc storefront was no exception.

The panels were heavy and tall, and each one had to be placed with great precision. Tom brought on a dedicated three-person crew to handle and position them.

Beyond the fluted panels, the crew also had to build a complex, multi-level back frame and plywood substrate, engineered to accommodate integrated lighting.

The real test, though, was the location: working inside an active mall, in a tight, walled-off space, on a strict timeline. That meant long night shifts for Tom's crew, but they tackled the constraints head-on.

The Solution‍

The job began at the loading dock, where Tom's crew carefully inspected every panel as it came off the truck. Yorkdale Mall’s tight conditions ruled out a pump cart, so the crew unpacked each crate inside the delivery truck and hand-carried the panels one at a time. It also gave them a final quality check on every piece before installation.

Handling came next. Big custom panels demand care, so the crew carried each one upright, like drywall, to keep it from snapping. Because the panels are real concrete, minor hairline cracks can occasionally appear around high-stress points during transport. Fortunately, Dekko products are designed for easy on-site repairs, allowing Tom's team to blend out any imperfections before finishing.

Then came the installation itself. Concrete naturally varies in thickness, so a flawless finish took a few extra steps. Before securing each panel with spray-on adhesive foam and brad nails, the crew ran a hand across adjacent edges to check for unevenness, adding shims behind any low spots to keep the face flush. 

Years of experience told them exactly where adjustments were needed, though Dekko's uniform panels meant fewer modifications were required from the start.

In the end, that attention to detail paid off. The fluted panels went up with tight, seamless joints, even inside a hoarded-off mall corridor and on a night-shift schedule.

The Results 

When the hoarding came down and the lights came on, the storefront made its entrance. Sleek black fluted concrete cladding and a custom inset design brought texture, depth and modern luxury to one of Yorkdale Mall's most high-profile retail spaces.

Tom and his crew did what they do at the end of every job: they stepped back and took it in.

"It's the real thing. It looks like real poured concrete walls that we did many, many years before Dekko. We love working with it. We do a job, stand back, look at it and go ‘Wow!’ every time."

— Tom Mizzoni, General Contractor & Installer

Make a Statement With Dekko

From a blank mall corridor to a sleek, luxury storefront, the Montblanc project shows what's possible when expert installers and authentic concrete come together.

Dekko's lightweight fluted cladding gives contractors, architects and retail brands the freedom to bring bold design into high-traffic commercial spaces, with the look and texture of real concrete. 

Ready to raise the bar on your next commercial project? Dekko is here to help.