Underhill’s Fine Wood Furniture is reluctantly leaving downtown Redmond on Jan. 31.
The closure of the Redmond store, at 16389 Redmond Way, is partly because of the recession, said company spokesperson Josh Underhill. Problems with home loans and the slow housing market have affected the furniture industry as a whole. A raise in the Redmond store’s rent also led to the decision to consolidate four stores into three. Underhill’s will continue to serve Redmond customers at its Bellevue, Kirkland and Lynnwood locations.
“We’re sorry to leave. The community of Redmond has been so welcoming. It’s been very extraordinary,” Underhill remarked. Yet he understands that “buying furniture is very postponable. If you don’t feel good about your job or the economy, you’ll put off purchasing furniture. Right now, need-based furniture is our bread and butter.”
In other words, adding a child to the family or having a child leave the nest would prompt necessary furniture buying, as opposed to just wanting something different.
That said, Underhill feels that his family business will weather the economic storm.
“We’ve relocated many times,” he pointed out.
His grandfather Frank opened the first Underhill’s store in 1946, at a spot where a McDonald’s Restaurant now stands, across from the Seattle Center.
That store was bulldozed to make way for the 1962 World’s Fair, at which time the Space Needle and other Seattle Center landmarks were created.
Subsequent Underhill’s stores were on Aurora Avenue in Seattle and in Everett.
Josh recently took over the retail side of the business, from his dad, Tom, who is concentrating on wholesale accounts. Tom also has designed much of the company’s wares, which Josh described as, “Furniture for real people.”
Most of their products are traditional rather than trendy, “designed here in the Northwest and we really target this area with real wood products,” Josh explained. “Growing up in this family business, many people have said to me, ‘I was rocked in a cradle from Underhill’s.’”
As the Redmond store gets ready to close, Josh said no layoffs are planned. The Redmond manager will transfer to the store in the Totem Lake section of Kirkland and additional employees will also shift to the other Eastside locations.
“Our hope is that people will still realize we’re still here (on the Eastside). Our Bellevue store is six times the size of this one,” said Josh.
Shoppers during the Redmond close-out will find bargains such as a solid wood bunk bed for $199, sofas for $499 and a complete dining set — a table with six chairs — for $399. There will be substantial markdowns across the sales floor.
As for the quaint building that will be vacated when Underhill’s leaves Redmond, Josh said its status is protected and that prospective tenants have raved that it would make a fabulous restaurant or bar.
The store will be open during regular hours, Monday-Friday from 9:30 a.m.-8 p.m., Saturday from 9:30 a.m.-6 p.m. and Sunday from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. until the closing date. For more information, call (425) 882-2575 or visit www.underhills.com.
