By Brooke Curley
brooke@gilavalleycentral.net
SAFFORD- When it comes down to high-quality and American-made furniture, there’s a new source in the Gila Valley that is affordable and friendly.
The Affordable Furniture and Mattress Gallery, located in the Mount Graham Shopping Center in Safford, is one of the newest furniture businesses featuring a wide array of new mattresses, couches, and household furniture. Open since February, the gallery is owned by Emily Rhinehart and her family. Rhinehart is an active member in the animal rescue community, has a farm and is a hard working mom. When Gila Valley Central asked why Rhinehart would choose to open a furniture store in the Gila Valley, she said she was spurred to do so when she went shopping for her first new sectional couch.
“My husband and I decided to make our first large furniture purchase and were going to get a new sectional for our home,” she said. “And we shopped in a lot of different locations and found that the price on the large sectional was tremendous, between $4,000 and $5,000.”
Rhinehart said she is a person who likes to help other people, and when she saw how she couldn’t afford a new sofa because of the outlandish markup in price, she knew others within the community must be facing the same situation and decided to open her own furniture store.
“We have five kids and a farm and a lot going on, and it just seemed like more money than we wanted to spend on a couch,” Rhinehart said. “The one that I specifically fell in love with and was the most comfortable was just under $5,000. I’ve priced those before for customers because I worked in a furniture store previously to this, and I knew the cost runs between $600 to $700 on those. So, the markup was incredible and we just couldn’t stomach spending the money when I knew how much it cost. So, I decided to open the store instead to give people another furniture store option but (one that) is a little bit more affordable.”
Contributed photo courtesy of Emily Rhinehart: Placed snugly beside the Hollis Cinemas theater, the Furniture and Mattress Gallery is open and eager to help anyone find their latest furniture addition.
When asked why the markup on the other stores’ furniture was so large, Rhinehart said large stores rely on those markups to cover their massive expenses. But since she owns a smaller business, she has a low markup to cover her minimal overhead costs.
However, Rhinehart stressed that just because a customer has paid a large amount, it doesn’t mean that the product is the highest quality.
“If it’s expensive here, it’s because it cost me a lot of money to get it,” Rhinehart said. “But my goal is to sell things that are priced fairly and a good quality that will last a long time.”
In the end, however, Rhinehart says that helping people find a good product that is affordable and makes the customer happy is what makes her happy.
“Getting people something that they’re super happy with (and) that’s good quality that they can actually afford makes me feel good,” she said. “I think it’s really nice and really good to see customers who are just thrilled with the ability to purchase something they’ve always wanted and that’s affordable for them and within their budget.”
Several top brands available at the Affordable Furniture Gallery include:
Parker House
Simmons
Spring Air
Southerland
Englander
American Bedding
Trendwood
Affordable Furniture and Mattress Gallery: 1998 W. Thatcher Blvd., Safford, AZ 85546
Phone: (928) 792-4429
Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/FurnitureMattressDecor/
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