Scott Williams swilliams@wolfrivermedia.com
Leader Photo by Scott Williams Hometown Furniture Sales owner Kerry Walters, third from left, holds a plant that he received as welcoming gift from Bonduel Area Chamber of Commerce representatives, Roxanne Tilleson, from left, Bill Kolaske and Joan Kamps, right.
A storefront that has been vacant in downtown Bonduel for more than a year is back in business with the arrival of a new furniture store.
Hometown Furniture Sales is celebrating its grand opening at 129 N. Cecil St. in a large storefront space previously occupied by other furniture retailers.
Business owner Kerry Walters already has filled the 8,000-square-foot showroom with inventory that is enticing shoppers with deep discounts on products for virtually every room in the house.
“We specialize in not specializing,” Walters said. “We have it all.”
The store opened in late April in a location previously occupied by Badger’s Best Furniture and before that The Wood Shed. The large storefront had been vacant since Badger’s Best moved to Shawano in late 2015 after five years in business in Bonduel.
Representatives of the Bonduel Area Chamber of Commerce recently held a welcoming ceremony to greet Hometown Furniture Sales as the community’s newest business.
Chamber President Bill Kolaske said he is delighted to see the Cecil Street storefront reactivated along the community’s main commercial corridor.
Seeing the property sit dormant for more than a year was difficult, Kolaske said.
“Now it’s a positive,” he said. “It’s a better atmosphere.”
Hometown Furniture Sales is open seven days a week, starting at 10 a.m. every day except Sunday, when the doors open at 11 a.m.
Walters, who has experience running furniture stores in Hayward and elsewhere, hopes to build a new following in Bonduel by offering a wide variety of quality merchandise at discount prices. He has connections in the industry that allow him to access inventory from other stores and suppliers.
The store’s grand opening event is being marketed as an “Emergency Furniture Selloff” using a robust supply for merchandise to fill the showroom from wall to wall.
Walters said he has been pleased with the response from shoppers so far, and he hopes for a long and successful business in Bonduel.
“The people are awesome here,” he said. “I’m very, very happy with how things are going.”