By Randi Block/Staff Writer
Ed Souza/Staff Nipomo’s Furniture Broker seems intent

on closing with a score of signs proclaiming that fact on its front lawn.

Nipomo residents will soon have to find a new place to shop for sofas, bed frames and bookcases, because the Furniture Broker is going out of business in April.

Bright yellow signs posted along the building’s exterior, visible from Highway 101 on North Frontage Road, announce huge discounts on all remaining furniture, as the store’s owners are working to clear out the warehouse before the doors close.

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Manager Cynthia Alvarez, who has worked in the store for more than 10 years, said it’s closing because of a depression in the industry for smaller stores, which have been seen across the nation.

“The furniture industry has been hurting all around,” Alvarez said.

Daniel Platz, an event manager who helps during liquidation processes, said many family owned furniture stores are going out of business because they can’t compete with the larger companies.

“It comes down to a price war,” he said.

The Furniture Broker has been a mainstay in Nipomo for 22 years, and the store’s eight employees are really upset about its closure.

“It breaks my heart. I’m really, really comfortable here,” said Mark Krause, who has sold furniture there for five years.

Customers are feeling the same sadness, Platz said, as many people have come in just to say goodbye to the employees.

Until the store closes, likely in April, there will be significant discounts on all the furniture.

Last year, the store also hung closing signs outside the business, but those were only advertising that the store was closing for a remodeling session, Alvarez said.

Store owner Brent Gross of Carmel is not sure what he wants to do with the large building, but he may consider dividing it and renting out the smaller segments, Platz said.

February 20, 2014