Deposits taken, work delayed for months
Deposits cashed quickly. Awnings arrive months — sometimes years — late, if at all.
Read the receiptsBuyer beware · Melrose, MA
Thinking about hiring Atlantic Awning?
Read this first.
A decade-plus of complaints, missed deadlines, and disputed deposits — pulled from BBB, Yelp, Angi, HomeAdvisor, Birdeye, and The Boston Globe. Every claim links to a public source.
Not affiliated with Atlantic Awning or Avalatec Awning, Inc. Editorial commentary protected by the First Amendment.
B-
BBB rating
Not accredited · failure to respond
10+
Years of public complaints
2014 → 2026
20+
Sourced reviews aggregated
BBB · Angi · Yelp · Birdeye · Globe
What customers report
Six recurring patterns, a decade of receipts.
Across BBB, Angi, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Birdeye, and Facebook, the same complaints surface year after year. The Boston Globe documented one of them in print in 2019. Here's what the public record says.
Manufacturer "COD only" — deposits not forwarded
Reviewers report calling the manufacturer directly and learning Atlantic Awning is on a COD-only account.
Read the receiptsRefunds require legal threats
Customers report needing chargebacks, BBB complaints, or small claims to recover funds.
Read the receiptsOwners "always out" — calls not returned
Recurring phrasing across years: "I called four times each week and they did not call back."
Read the receiptsSales without proper site visits
Recent BBB complaint: custom metal awning sold from photos and AI rendering — no in-person measurement.
Read the receiptsQuality issues post-install — warranty ignored
Undersized awnings, ropes breaking within months, side shades unsecured — and unresponsive when reported.
Read the receiptsIn their own words
What real customers say.
Three quotes from public reviews. Every one is attributed and links to its source.
“
Paid a $3,825 deposit on Feb 16 for a retractable awning at his Gloucester rental. Repeatedly told the awning was already at Atlantic's Melrose shop. After missed deadlines, owner Mark Horton finally admitted in late May it had not arrived. When the customer called the manufacturer directly on June 12, he learned Atlan…
Jeff Socolow
The Boston Globe · 2019
“
Although the quality of products used by Atlantic Awning are very good, Sunair awnings, their customer service is awful. At every junction the company looked to upcharge me, charge me for services that I could easily have done myself ($100s), and in the end never finished their work. Side shades were never properly sec…
Barry C.
HomeAdvisor · 2023
“
Customer ordered a custom standing-seam metal awning on 9/3 based on photos and an AI rendering. Atlantic Awning never conducted an in-person site visit. Two months later the customer was told the awning could not be installed due to "insufficient clearance" — an issue any in-person measurement would have caught before…
BBB customer
BBB · 2025
Who runs Atlantic Awning?
Cheryl Yennaco and Mark Horton — owners since 2013.
Atlantic Awning was founded in 1888. Current ownership took over on July 18, 2013 when their entity Avalatec Awning, Inc. acquired the business. Owner: Cheryl Yennaco (General Manager / Owner). Manager: Mark Horton.
The business this site is about
Atlantic Awning
Avalatec Awning, Inc.
270 Franklin Street
Melrose, MA 02176
Phone: (781) 665-4040
Web: atlantic-awning.com
Legal entity
Avalatec Awning, Inc.
Acquired Atlantic Awning July 18, 2013
View source →
BBB profile
B- · Not accredited
Failure to respond to 1 complaint
View source →
Boston Globe coverage
2019 consumer column
“Owner of Gloucester rental property is seeing red over awning dispute” — Sean P. Murphy
View source →
Their website
atlantic-awning.com
WordPress-hosted business site
View source →
Were you affected by Atlantic Awning?
Get your money back. Help others avoid them.
If you paid a deposit and never got the awning — or got an undersized, leaking, or wildly delayed one — you have options. Step-by-step guide, plus a way to share your story so the next customer can find it on Google.
FAQ
Common questions before you sign anything.
The same things keep coming up in customer searches. Here's the public record.
Atlantic Awning (legal entity Avalatec Awning, Inc.) of Melrose, MA is a real, registered Massachusetts business operating since 1888 with current ownership since July 2013. However, the Better Business Bureau lists them as B- rated, NOT BBB Accredited, with a "failure to respond to 1 complaint(s)" notation. Public reviews on Angi, Yelp, HomeAdvisor, Birdeye, BBB, and Facebook document a 10+ year pattern of customer complaints around delayed deliveries, deposit handling, refund refusals, and unresponsive communication. The Boston Globe published a consumer-protection column about Atlantic Awning in June 2019.
As of the most recent BBB profile review, Atlantic Awning carries a B- rating from the Better Business Bureau, is NOT BBB Accredited, and has a "Failure to respond to 1 complaint(s) filed against business" notation on the public profile. The BBB file was opened in 1888.
Multiple Angi and Yelp reviewers reference small-claims court filings against Atlantic Awning to recover deposits — including one report of an $8,000 deposit recovered only after legal action. The Boston Globe's 2019 "Fine Print" column documented one customer's dispute that was resolved short of court only after the manufacturer was contacted directly. Specific case records would be in Massachusetts District Court for Middlesex County.
If you paid by credit card and it has been less than 60–120 days, your fastest path is a chargeback through your card issuer. Beyond that: file a BBB complaint, file a Massachusetts Attorney General consumer complaint, and — if needed — file in Massachusetts small claims court (Middlesex County District Court, where Melrose is located). Massachusetts allows small claims up to $7,000 with filing fees around $40. We have a step-by-step guide at /get-your-money-back.
Atlantic Awning is owned and operated by Cheryl Yennaco (General Manager / Owner) and her husband Mark Horton (Manager). They acquired the business through Avalatec Awning, Inc. on July 18, 2013. Atlantic Awning was originally founded in 1888.
Yes. Avalatec Awning, Inc. is the legal entity that acquired Atlantic Awning in July 2013. The business operates publicly under the Atlantic Awning brand name at 270 Franklin Street, Melrose, MA 02176.
Every claim on this site links back to its source. Direct review pages: BBB · Angi · HomeAdvisor · Yelp · Birdeye · Facebook. The 2019 Boston Globe column by Sean P. Murphy is also linked. See our /sources page for the full list with last-updated dates.
Yes. We maintain a list of higher-rated, BBB-accredited awning companies serving the Greater Boston / North Shore area at /alternatives — chosen purely on public review data. We have no affiliation with any of them.
About this site
atlanticawningsucks.com is a consumer-protection site run by an affected customer. Every claim links back to a public review platform or a published news source. We will publish corrections for any factual error — see our About page.