The history of Cada Pools & Spas reads like a family relay. Today, the baton is with A.J. Cada — the fifth Albert Joseph — who serves as store manager. The first leg began two generations earlier, when his grandfather, Albert J. Cada III, and great-grandfather built a motel pool in Missouri, blasting through bedrock with dynamite and finishing the excavation by hand, long before spec sheets and YouTube how-tos. From that job came a guiding principle: Problems can be solved, and customers remember who helps solve them.
By 1981, A.J.’s grandfather had turned that mindset into a business. Working from the family home, the former custom home builder began offering vinyl-liner and concrete pools. His sons and now owners, Tom and Brian, built spas by hand in those early years, before prefabricated units became the standard. As portable spas grew larger and more sophisticated, the company expanded into retail and service as well.
Today, Cada Pools & Spas is owned by Tom and Brian Cada, pictured above with Store Manager A.J. Cada.
The first retail store was compact, which made it easy to learn names, recall equipment histories, and notice the small details that turned a Saturday water test into a standing appointment. Those habits became the brand.
Then in 2014, the company transformed a foreclosed plant nursery into a larger, light-filled headquarters in St. Charles, Ill. The move created space to build on what was already working: an instructional water lab, a service department fluent in both chemistry and mechanics, a spa showroom anchored by Marquis and InnovaSpa, and a dedicated vinyl-liner construction division. During peak season, the team grows to 20 to 25 employees, and the rhythm remains: teach, service, support.
We sat down with A.J. Cada and maintenance manager Aria Novak to talk about how that philosophy shows up day to day — and the details that keep customers coming back.
A rotating “Staff Picks” display is available near checkout with curated options customers might not know exist.
IT’S IN THE RETAIL DETAILS
The customer experience begins at hello. “We do a phenomenal job of greeting people,” A.J. says. “For regulars, we know them by name — who they are, what they have, how things have been going.” The personal touch lowers the temperature on technical conversations and, yes, sometimes leads to two-hour catch-ups the team happily accommodates.
Right past the hello, the entrance sets the tone. “If you’ve ever walked through a Costco, we put all the big, shiny, fancy, expensive things up front, kind of a wow factor,” A.J. says. Premium grills, top-of-the-line spas and flagship robotic cleaners sit under bright lighting and LED signage to spark interest fast.
From there, traffic flows to the free water testing lab, by design. “We put the water testing all the way in the back so customers have to navigate the store,” says A.J. The footprint shifts with the calendar: more chemicals in swim season; more hot tubs as pools close. “We reevaluate layout twice a year — spring before it gets crazy, and fall when things wind down.”
A repurposed greenhouse adds a moment of surprise. Most days, 25 to 30 hot tubs are on display, so shoppers can compare layouts and features side by side. The space is flooded with natural light; operable windows keep air moving, and the ceiling is shaded with panels made from mesh pool safety covers — a clever crossover that doubles as a talking point. “Customers go, ‘That’s the same thing I have on my pool?’ Yep, exactly the same thing,” A.J. says.
At checkout, a 4-by-4-foot chalkboard rotates monthly tips, dos and don’ts, and rebates. “We project a QR code onto the board so people can scan while they’re checking out,” says Aria. “People are kind of shocked — ‘You traced that on a chalkboard and it works?’” Nearby, a small giveaway station, complete with koozies, magnetic chip clips, bottle openers, and other freebies, adds a little fun. A rotating Staff Picks display channels the team’s credibility, answering the frequent “What do you use?” question with curated options customers might not know exist.
Another retail detail: Because spa buyers rarely take delivery the same day, Cada Pools & Spas sends them home with something tangible — a thank-you bag with an insulated tumbler, a small spa measuring cup, a water sample bottle, the model brochure, and a starter set of spa care — bridging the gap from purchase to delivery and nudging new owners toward the water lab for ongoing guidance.
USE SOCIALS TO TEACH AND ENTERTAIN
Aria, who manages the company’s social media presence, steers her own feeds with a simple filter: If she’s scrolling, she’s looking for a way to translate major trends to pools and spas. “I spend a lot of time on social — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook — always asking, ‘How can I relate this to pools?’” she says.
For Cada Pools & Spas’ channels, Instagram and Facebook are linked for efficiency. “Our Instagram and Facebook are tied together, so I post on Instagram, and it goes right to Facebook,” Aria says. But she treats the audiences differently: Instagram skews younger around hosting and family time. Facebook leans older with more interest in therapeutic benefits. TikTok is where they let people see the team. “It’s more to make people laugh. Not everything has to be educational 24/7. A funny 30-second video shows us working as a team and having a good time. That makes us more approachable.”
Likewise, marketing intentionally stays in-house. “We do our email through Constant Contact,” A.J. says. “We do our own Google SEO… we don’t pay anybody to do our marketing or social.”
Aria ties it all together with a Linktree — not just in bios but in her email signature — “everything we’d want in one place,” with one-tap routes to the company website, major manufacturer partners, and the opening/closing and maintenance forms.
On creative, the team moves fast with Canva for quick, branded assets across posts, promos, and in-store signage. For response and retention, Podium works as the always-on front desk. “It’s 24/7,” explains A.J. “We may not respond at 2 a.m., but we’ll see it.” Keeping conversations in writing lets any teammate rejoin a thread “two, three, four months later” and spot patterns to act on. It also pulls service closer to social as owners text photos of test strips, cloudy water, or filters, and get clear next steps before small issues become big ones.
A foreclosed plant nursery was transformed, with space to show 25 to 30 hot tub models at one time.
PROMOTIONS AND COMMUNITY
Cada Pools & Spas’ annual Spring Sale raffle is a reliable spark. The more a customer spends, the more entries they earn. “Each $100 is a ticket,” says A.J. “Someone drops a thousand dollars and we say, ‘You just got 10 tickets.’” Prizes range from a 65-inch television to Bluetooth speakers, wireless headphones, and seasonal floats, and the team tries to match wins to the household. The structure also nudges natural round-ups: “Sometimes people are $10 away from the next ticket,” says Aria, “and they’ll grab one more item to hit the mark. It’s a great way to give customers more chances to win while lifting the average transaction.”
Outside the store, the team shows up in ways that fit the brand. After a brief hiatus, they returned to their community’s annual St. Patrick’s Day parade with an InnovaSpa on a trailer under a giant pool noodle rainbow and “pot of gold” balloons — simple, cheerful, memorable.
At a local 5K, Aria flagged a “Water Pros →” station and passed out carry-and-run cups to participants. “We were handing out water, because we’re the water experts.” It was a clever, budget-friendly way to show up for the community.
CROSS-TRAINING AND CULTURE
Cada Pools & Spas staffs to a clear cadence: be fully crewed by the second week of May, when openings and foot traffic spike. Their bench strength comes from cross-training. “We’ve done a really good job of training technicians in maintenance and service,” says A.J. “It makes a well-rounded employee. If someone’s out, we can plug maintenance into service or service into maintenance.”
That versatility also creates a path forward. The current service manager started in retail, moved into maintenance for water chemistry, did a turn in construction, and now leads service — a template the team points to when talking about growth.
Culture is the filter. Aria still remembers her interview: “It was incredibly easy to talk to A.J., open, honest, relaxed, and you could tell he enjoyed his job. He stays up with the trends. Having a manager who jives with the staff makes this job amazing.” Hiring decisions protect that chemistry. “We have to respect the crew we currently have,” she says, looking for people who match the team’s pace, humor, and standards.
In peak season, that mix of cross- trained roles and a manager who keeps the group aligned ensures handoffs stay clean and customers get consistent help, whether at the counter, in the showroom, or on the next backyard call.
WHAT ENDURES
While the pandemic spike has settled, the work hasn’t. When retail cools, the team leans into service and repair; when sales heat up, the floor leads. Seasons shift, and focus follows.
“While the tools change, the promise doesn’t,” A.J. says. It’s a fitting continuation of a story that began with dynamite and an excavator — solve what’s in front of you and keep the baton moving. “We continue to meet people where they are.”
This article first appeared in the October 2025 issue of AQUA Magazine — the top resource for retailers, builders and service pros in the pool and spa industry. Subscriptions to the print magazine are free to all industry professionals. Click here to subscribe.
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Today, Cada Pools & Spas is owned by Tom and Brian Cada, pictured above with Store Manager A.J. Cada.
A rotating “Staff Picks” display is available near checkout with curated options customers might not know exist.
A foreclosed plant nursery was transformed, with space to show 25 to 30 hot tub models at one time.
