The Barton family has been serving the area's furniture needs for five generations, and the new business name says just that.
Generations Furniture was the official new name of the establishment as of May 1, after being Ashley Furniture HomeStore since October 2001.
"After 16 years, we decided to go in a different direction," said owner Kirk Barton.
The new name could not be more fitting for the fifth generation family furniture store with a history of serving the Poplar Bluff area for more than 80 years.
The family affair began during the great depression era with Walter and Lottie Anderson running Anderson's Home Furnishings. The store originally began selling groceries, but the times of the great depression ended that, and Walter found a need to sell tangible goods, so he chose furniture.
Sandlin and Margaret Barton then took over the business in the early '70s and brought in their son, Allan, and his wife, Vicki, Barton before Sandlin's retirement about 10 years later. Kirk and Beth Barton, Allen and Vicki's son, joined the family business in the '90s and they suitably brought their children, Kaleb Barton and Caroline Dobbs, into the mix.
"Furniture is in our blood," Kirk said.
He added the families were brought up in the business and the children worked at the store in some form or another during the summers, whether it be in the warehouse or office.
Caroline reminisced about playing on the furniture as a child with her brother, Kaleb, and hiding in the tall stacks of carpet rolls.
"All the bunk beds were lined up and we would jump from one bed to the next, and then we would get in trouble," she said with a laugh.
Generations Furniture carries many types and lines of furniture, most exclusive to their store such as Southern Motion, ifd (International Furniture Direct), New Classic, Mayo and Delta.
An aspect of Southern Motion and Mayo, which is unique among furniture lines, is the option to completely customize the pieces in some form or another.
Mayo pieces can be customized according to fabric, leg and nail finishes and much more. Southern Motion can be customized in different ways such as rocker or swivel, memory sit, adjustable headrest and more. Both brands are also made in the United States.
The ifd furniture line has a very rustic, distressed style with real wood incorporated that is made in Mexico.
The options don't stop at furniture. Generations Furniture also carries a wide variety of mattresses, including Simmons Beautyrest, and new this year, Sierra Sleep.
"Anything you could use for your home, we carry," Caroline said. This includes dining furniture, bedroom furniture, recliners, accessories, wall art, rugs, hanging lights, throw rugs, lamps and much more.
With the name change, the only difference is brands carried in store.
"We have the same owners, employees and location," Caroline said.
From generation to generation, the family has always strived to provide top notch customer service. When the store was still under the Anderson's Furniture name, the family would work with customers any way possible to get them any items they needed, even if it wasn't furniture.
This level of customer service continues today at Generations Furniture. Caroline said the staff will do anything to help the customer, and this includes on furniture that was not purchased from their store.
"Our sales staff strives to make relationships with the customers to understand their needs and wants," she said.
To celebrate the new name, Generations Furniture will hold a grand opening celebration soon.
Generations Furniture is located at 3418 S. Westwood Blvd. with a warehouse and closeout room on-site, and can be reached at 686-4114. They are open Monday through Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Friday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.; Saturdayfrom 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and closed on Sunday.
"Our family has been making the houses of Southeast Missouri into homes for five generations," said the Barton family.