By Michael Rappaport, Staff Writer

SAN BERNARDINO – Tom’s Farm Country Furnishings, a fixture on what was once known as “Furniture Row,” is closing its store at 1375 E. St.

The date for closing has yet to be determined and the company’s store in south Corona will remain open.


The move will leave only two furniture stores – Home Gallery and Furniture Mart – open in the neighborhood.

“Business has just dried up here,” said Steve Reed, a store manager. “This area used to be called `Furniture Row,’ but there are only three of us left and no one is doing very well.”

Calls to the other two stores went unanswered Friday.

Reed said the brand new Ashley’s Furniture store in Colton had been “the last straw.”

“It’s a beautiful store,” he said.

San Bernardino City Manager Fred Wilson said he was sorry to see the store closing, but that he didn’t think it represented a greater problem for the city in overall retail.

“I don’t think there is any problem with the location,” he said. “In fact, it has been a great location for retail until just recently. I think there’s a larger issue about tastes in furtniture; Ashley’s has just dominated the market recently.”

With Ashley’s to the west and the new Citrus
Advertisement
Plaza power center to the east in Redlands, Wilson suggested that the local furniture stores were caught in the middle.

“This seems to be about the evolution of retail,” he said. “Stores like Tom’s Farms are older stores, and there are a lot of new stores in the area.”

Reed said the store had a great deal of inventory on hand, and that there would probably be some sort of pre-closing sale.

Contact business editor Michael Rappaport at (909) 483-9395 or at m_rappaport@dailybulletin.com.