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Posted on Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 6:01 a.m.

House of Sofas to close Jackson Road furniture showroom following liquidation sale

By Paula Gardner

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Signs announcing the pending furniture store closing fill the House of Sofas store on Jackson Road.

Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com

House of Sofas started the new year with a going-out-of-business sale as the family owned retailer west of Ann Arbor starts to wind down its operations.

The business - located at 5301 Jackson, just east of Zeeb in Scio Township - will remain open only long enough to sell off inventory, said Ceia Murphy, daughter of the store’s co-founders.

The store, she said, “will last until the inventory is gone,” she said.

House of Sofas operates out of a 19,000-square-foot building dedicated to the furniture showroom and some storage. Additional inventory is stored in two warehouses.

The decision to close was made by the family: Ceia, her mother, Juanita, and her brother, Matthew.

“It’s time to call it quits,” Ceia Murphy said.

The economy is part of it, she said, but not the driving factor.

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“It’s just a family decision,” Murphy said. “My mom needs to enjoy her life.”

The store was founded in 1983 by Bob and Juanita Murphy, according to their son. They also had two partners at the beginning.

The store originally was housed in a building next door, which had been the Scio Township School in the 1800s.

Eventually the store expanded to a location in Ypsilanti Township, but then the original partnership disbanded, with the Murphys retaining the Scio Township business. In the late 1980s, they bought the property that houses the existing building, building it and later expanding it.

Bob Murphy died 12 years ago, but the family held onto the store. The location turned into one of the hotter retail sites west of Ann Arbor, as the Jackson Road corridor boomed, fueled in part by the I-94 interchange at Zeeb Road and the construction of Meijer.

The building was listed for sale in 2010 with a $1.092 million asking price. At that time, the business had planned to stay in part of the building, according to the listing.

Ceia Murphy said on Monday the family is exploring leasing options for the property.

The store is busy as it winds down, the family said. Both Matthew and Ceia have worked there since they were teens, and they’ll move on, they said. Juanita will get a chance to retire.

“We’ve had a great clientele,” Ceia said. “We really appreciate their support through the years.”

Paula Gardner is Business News Director of AnnArbor.com. Contact her at 734-623-2586 or by email. Sign up for the weekly Business Review newsletter, distributed every Thursday, here.

Comments

Aaron

Sat, Mar 19, 2011 : 2:54 p.m.

I see they're still there, and still "going out of business". Everything old is new again.

a2pilot

Wed, Jan 5, 2011 : 6:13 p.m.

I'll believe it when I see it. They had some nice stuff but the people working there had an awful, high pressure approach that I didn't care for. Went down to a place in Tecumseh and bought the same dining room set for the same price and they threw in 2 chairs for free after I told them how awful this place treated me!

flexorz

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 6:28 p.m.

We were suckered into their "retirement relinquishment" sale a few years back. Funny how we were told at the time that they were getting rid of everything in the store because the owner was retiring and the new management wanted to bring in their own selection of furniture - and yet, according to the article, it seems like the original owner is still around! We were also lied to when they told us at the time of purchase that the recliner that we would receive would not be floor model - yet, that's exactly what we received when we went to pick it up! Unfortunately, it's a bit hard to argue when it's your word against theirs, and you have a moving truck waiting outside. I don't have any complains about the furniture itself, but the whole place seems a little shady and wouldn't be surprised if they're still around this time next year. Just as others have said, they seem to do promotions similar to this quite often. I would recommend either Tyner in south A2 (although a bit pricy) or Harry's just west of Saline. (I have no affiliation with either, other than being a satisfied customer.) We have also had no issues with our purchase from Gardner White, but try to steer away from the larger stores.

jcj

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 5:50 p.m.

Well now they have garnered some free PR. We maybe this will make them have "a change of heart" and they will stay in business only to display there going out of business signs again next spring!

Belgium

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 5:42 p.m.

This store has had "total liquidation sales", "going out of business sales", "owner retiring sales", "everything must go" sales so many times, it's kinda hard to believe it, even if it's true. We bought a couch, comfy chair and ottoman from them and within a couple years (no dogs or kids) it started to come apart at the seems. Their solution? Send over a guy who stapled the thing back together so poorly, you could see the staples when looking at the side of the couch. There was no discussion on what his "fix" would do to the look of the thing, he just did it and then acted insulted when I said it looked terrible (and I was nice about it). You don't do that without telling the customer what it may look like first. When I complained to the owners, they said they received a warranty call and they responded. We were told that if we didn't like the resolution, they were sorry, but it's the best they can do. I did some googling, pulled the shoddy staple job and re-stapled it using a different method that hid the staple heads from view. Granted I had to buy a tool, but it looks a heck of a lot better. I would never shop there again. Terrible service and terrible followup from the owners. Always a bad sign when someone thinks they are so much of an institution that they don't have to play by the normal rules.

Bob

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 5:15 p.m.

We had a similar experience this fall with the store that Chelsea3 had. The store can't go out of business soon enough.

Townie

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 3:51 p.m.

I never shopped there because of their unwillingness to observe the Ann Arbor and neighboring communities sign ordinances and placed a ton of ugly, illegal signs at the highway ramps.

4 Fingers

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 2:36 p.m.

I always thought they were nice people to deal. When I was young and just getting started, Juanita sole me a sofa and love seat on unsigned credit for six months till I could pay it off. Try that with a corporate store.

Jane

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 2:21 p.m.

To bad! Now we will be stuck with the Art Van's! CHEAP! House of sofa's have the greatest quality at resonable prices. I am so sorry they are closing!

michigan48103

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 10:54 a.m.

All of the workers are wonderful and kind, I have been buying from the store for a few years and I like dealing with Matthew, he is always helpful and kind as soon as you walk into the store. If some one was smoking in the store, I am sure the members of the Murphy family were not in the store, I have seen smoking in the store and I have been a customers for many years.

Chelsea3

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 10:41 a.m.

It is understandable that they are going out of business (still) as their past performance shows a lack of concern for the customer. We ordered and paid for a sofa and love seat in early July, 2 years ago. After several calls, we finally got delivery of the items 5 months later, and they were the wrong color. It then took several weeks and many calls to receive our money back from them. Went to a different store and had the items in 6 days.

jcj

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 10:35 a.m.

We will see how soon the doors close!

AA

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 9:48 a.m.

This business has been closing for years. I hope this is the real closure... and this IS NOT a personal attack that violates restrictive anti free speech conversation guidelines.

ChelseaGirl

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 9:41 a.m.

I mean "odor" 8-)

ChelseaGirl

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 9:38 a.m.

My husband and I loved the furniture that they carried, however, each time we went in to purchase something the sales person(s)smoked in the store and we were afraid that the furniture would have an order.

millermaple

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 9:30 a.m.

All of the people they employ as human billboards to stand at major street intersections will be out of work!

Elaine F. Owsley

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 9:27 a.m.

We have purchased several furniture items from House of Sofas and will miss them when they are gone. We have always found the folks there to be helpful and efficient in their business with us. It's close and they carried good lines. I can understand their decision, but it's too bad to lose them.

millermaple

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 9:14 a.m.

They have had signs for years that say that they are going out of business- sort of like the electronic shops in NYC with the permanent "Going Out of Business" signs. Is this story for real?

jcj

Tue, Jan 4, 2011 : 7:47 a.m.

Seems to me that I have seen signs saying this for years!