The Customized Tours Family

Top: Pake 90, Lou 60, Dan 30
Bottom: Joel 35, and Jonah 1.5

   Customized Tours & Charter Service was started by Lou Mensonides in 1989.

   By borrowing money from his father-in-law to buy his first van, Lou launched Customized Tours. Through tenacity and determination Lou began by talking to hotel concierges and developing a good city tour. He would wait in hotel lobbies for small groups needing transportation when no tours were booked. It was during this time that Lou developed his philosophy of treating his customers as guests. He considered himself an ambassador for the City of Seattle.

Lou at the Pike's Place Market

   Lou eventually needed help and had several people help him, a handful of these original guides still help with tours today. One of his early tour guides was (locally famous today) Dick Falkenbury, known for starting the movement to expand Seattle's monorail.

   Chances are if you call Customized Tours today, the phone will be answered by Lou's oldest son Joel. Joel runs the day to day operations of Customized Tours now while Lou helps out in a pinch and pays the bills and other errands.

For years Joel worked at various levels of management for local companies. The last job Joel held before coming to Customized Tours was Operations Manager for Lowes Home Improvement Warehouse. So in the end it's one happy family for the small, but growing Seattle business.