Brewbaker’s sold to Art Van
In a deal completed last week, Brewbaker?s, northern Michigan’s oldest family furniture retailer and Onaway?s magnet retailer, sold its business to the state?s largest furniture retailer, Art Van Furniture, another family-run operation. Brewbaker?s Furniture, which began in 1959, has two locations in Petoskey and Onaway and billed itself ?northern Michigan’s largest home furnishings retailer.?
Art Van also started in 1959 expanding to operate 31 stores in 30 Michigan cities, employing some 2,500 associates, according to its Web site.
?It is with mixed emotions we have made this decision because this business has been strong and profitable and our sons looked forward to carrying on the company name,? said Kathy McConnell, owner of Brewbaker’s Furniture. ?We decided after decades of business this was the best decision for our family and our employees.?
?It’s really a win-win situation,? said Art Van Elslander, founder and chairman of Art Van Furniture. ?It’s one family business shaking hands with another family business and the people of northern Michigan will enjoy the same quality, selection, and value of Art Van Furniture that the rest of the state enjoys.?
McConnell said they were not looking to sell Brewbakers, rather Art Van approached them in the spring and finalized the offer last month. As soon as Art Van took ownership last week it started advertising the going out of business sale. ?It was a surprise that they approached us. The business has been strong. My boys were looking forward to taking over and it was great to have them in the business,? McConnell said. Son Michael manages the Petoskey store, assisted by his wife Lindsey and his brother Jason.
?We had never intended on selling this business. But it seemed to be the wisest thing to do,? McConnell said. Art Van Furniture plans to retain the 80-plus employees of Brewbaker’s Furniture, including two sons who helped managed the two stores in Onaway and Petoskey.
?We would like to thank all our customers in northern Michigan and our employees for making Brewbakers the success that it became. You can?t do it alone without great employees,? McConnell said.
Elzy Brewbaker started his furniture business while living at his farm on Porter Road in Onaway. Wanting to be at home with his four children and wishing to quit the road construction business, Elzy looked to go into business for himself.
?He saved up enough money and sold our cottage on Lake Huron and invested in some used furniture and new furniture that he found at a furniture store down state. He had a big sale at the barn, which was just about three miles out of town. I was just a little kid at the time, but I remember there were so many people that came and he was so happy,? Kathy McConnell said.
Elzy?s ?Bargain Barn? then moved to Onaway and operated out of several different locations on the main street. In 1960 he began construction of a building, which would house the growing business. Additions were made on the building in the 1960s and 1970s and it became the Brewbaker Furniture Company. In 1976 his daughter Kathy and her husband Jerry McConnell, who was a civil engineer in Alabama, purchased the furniture business from her father.
Elzy left the furniture store and opened up a mobile home business across the street. The McConnells turned the furniture, appliance and floor-covering store into a regional magnet business with loyal customers within a 100-mile radius of the store. But not before they overcame a crisis just six years into their ownership.
Their building was destroyed in an Aug. 1982 fire, but they chose to rebuild and expanded the store to what it is today. The Brewbaker Furniture fire of 1982 ironically was the third major fire on that same site.
On July 10, 1958, the Jolly Kid Garment Company burned to the ground leaving only portions of the stone building, which later became p
American Wood Rim Company and the Lobdell Emery Manufacturing Company were destroyed by fire on Jan. 14, 1926. That fire eliminated an estimated 1,200 to 1,500 jobs, which never returned to Onaway.
As the years wore on, Brewbakers doubled the size of the store and later decided to build a new store in Petoskey. ?Our sons were looking to get in the business and we were looking for ways to grow the business even more. After doing market research we built a new store in Petoskey with a huge successful grand opening August 2008. It was a very exciting time,? she said.
Amid mixed emotions on selling the family business, the McConnells are thankful for their wonderful employees and for the scores of customers who showed their loyalty and friendship to their family over the years.