HIGH POINT — A pair of furniture retailers made local headlines this week for plans to open stores in former Sears showrooms.
In Farmington, Maine, Jake Dunton, a former Sears licensee, opened his own store in the former space on March 1 according to reports from The Daily Bulldog. Called Jake’s Home Furniture & Appliance, the location has been in his family for three generations. Dunton told The Daily Bulldog that he hopes to have a shoppable website open in about a month.
Another former Sears store will be home to a Speedy Furniture showroom in North Franklin Township, Pa., later this month, according to reports from The Observer-Reporter.
Devin Reed, Regis Nairn and a third silent partner are opening a 9,000-square-foot showroom in the space adjacent to the Crown Jeep dealership at the Washington Crown Center mall.
“When we were looking for an opportunity to start a business, Speedy met what we were looking for from an owner-operated business standpoint,” Reed told the paper. “On top of that, it’s Washington. Crown Center needed to be revitalized. There was a little bit of pride there.
“I would be lying if I didn’t say we weren’t excited to go back into the store where I used to get Craftsman screwdrivers with my dad. That Sears sat closed since 2019, but it had a rich history. There is nostalgia just being in the Crown Center again.”