Tuesday, April 30, 2013

Baker Furniture Co. going out of business

Baker Furniture Co., a large retailer of furniture, bedding and accessories in Gaston County, will soon close its doors after 64 years. 

According to a press release, the current owners, Sandra Baker VanPelt and her husband, Jim, are retiring. 

Floyd “Red” Baker started the business in a garage in 1949. Located about 14 miles west of uptown Charlotte, the store now occupies a 40,000-square-foot brick building at 225 Market St. in downtown Cramerton. 

The store carried wares for the living room, dining room, home office and bedroom. Everything in the store is on sale.

The store owners could not be reached by phone, but a store employee said the Baker Furniture doors won't close until all furniture is sold. 

Sandra and Jim have shared the day-to-day operations with their grown children, Greg VanPelt and Holly Hite. 

The Van Pelts and Bakers are lifetime residents of Gaston County. 



8 comments:

Anonymous said...

This is the NEW NORM for the GOP state of North Carolina...NO jobs, NO new business, just businesses going out of business.

I thought the GOP was going to fix the NC economy and create JOBS. 2014 cannot come soon enough.

KB said...

Mr. Obama was supposed to fix everything - and he certainly has, hasn't he. Might as well retire while still can.

Anonymous said...

They've been running a business for over fifty years! They deserve to be able to retire.

Anonymous said...

Why can't the kiddies take it over & keep it in business?

Anonymous said...

My family owns a furniture store in another state. Sometimes the kids aren't qualified to take over the business.

Anonymous said...

So commenter at 1:35 blames GOP, and commenter at 1:46 blames Obama. I think neither actually read the article where it says they wanted to retire.

Unknown said...

I guess they have thought of their decision really hard. It's not easy to open, run, and then close a business. For 64 years, Baker Furniture Co. has been a reputable retailer. Perhaps, the owners just want to focus on themselves this time. Marielle, sixtyfortyone

Donna said...

Having a piece of Baker Furniture was an honor back in the 80's and 90's and dare I say even a status symbol. I thought they were a huge company that would always be there and that they would sell the business rather than just close it down. They've had fine showrooms in Atlanta for years as well as at design centers exclusive to the trade. There really aren't any fine furniture companies left in the US. So let's be truthful, all politicians have sold out their country and people trying to save the masses of the world which is a popular theory but never works and never will. The reason North Carolina is no longer the furniture making center of the world is because of cheap imports flooding the market and low wages in the US that prevent people from ever having anything but cheap knock offs they will have to replace every couple of years or more. The days of owning fine furniture that would be an heirloom are over. We are now in the disposable one size fits all copy cat phase of history where everyone just wants a trendy look exactly like they saw on HGTV and can off load when they are told to do the next big thing at Pottery Barn. I can't imagine a pulse quickening about a made in China dining table the way it does with a Charleston style Baker dining table. Something has been lost that will never be found again.