Schuette-Daniels won’t reopen

By Jennifer Eisenbart

Editor

The owners of a business fixture in Burlington had a difficult choice to make this week.

After close to a century in the furniture business, the Schuette-Daniels furniture store in downtown Burlington will close in the aftermath of a devastating April fire, Matt Daniels owner of Schuette-Daniels Furniture said Tuesday.

Daniels hand-delivered a letter to the Burlington Standard Press Tuesday that thanked Burlington residents, business staff and customers for the years they had shared.

“We have decided that in today’s business climate, it is not financially possible to re-open the store,” the letter from Daniels reads. “Rest assured this was a very difficult decision to make.”

“It was very hard,” Daniels said in an interview. “There’s many years of service that we’ve had in the community, and there’s a number of family members who are involved.”

The store also employed about eight to nine other employees.

“It has been a hard decision for our family,” Daniels explained. “At this time, I think we have to keep going with our other interests in town, and help mom and dad get some sort of closure as far as the building.”

The furniture store originally opened in 1929, and had been through several different names and owners. Richard and Doris Daniels – Matt’s parents – owned the furniture store and the funeral home until 2007, when Matt Daniels bought both businesses. Matt had been involved in the business since 1977.

The April five fire resulted in a total loss of one building, and serious damage to the other two in the row of three on Pine Street in the heart of Burlington’s downtown. The business lost more than $1 million in inventory as well.

Daniels said the family chose to write a letter to the community because of the number of years the business enjoyed in the community.

“We felt that it was something (we) wanted in the paper to let people know that the business was important to us,” Daniels said. He added that he thought the letter was deserved rather than just a news story.

“Because we are a family business,” he said. I think that customers are important to us. I still am committed to the community and where I live.”

What the future holds for the buildings on Pine Street remains to be seen.

“We don’t know yet,” Daniels said. “We’re in talks with the city, and with our insurance company to get things settled.”

The property itself is a separate entity from the furniture business, and Daniels said there would be a period needed to sort out the details.

City officials felt the loss of the business Wednesday.

“It’s sad,” said City Administrator Kevin Lahner. “It’s always sad to see any business close, especially one that has the history they do in the community.”

Lahner said the city will be working to fill that space, “sooner rather than later.”

“We’re just investigating that right now,” Lahner said. “It’s sad.”

Mayor Bob Miller said the furniture store was a point of destination for many people.

“We kind of hate to see it go away,” Miller said. “But we certainly understand Schuette-Daniels’ reasoning.”

The Daniels Letter:

Dear Burlington,

Schuette-Daniels Furniture has been a staple of the Burlington area since 1929. Known for offering “Quality Furniture at Fair Prices.” As most of you may know, we suffered a devastating fire in our store on April 5 of this year. The entire contents, inventory and equipment, were a total loss.

After securing estimates to return the business to its “Pre-Fire Condition” and factoring in the insurance coverage to this rebuilding process, we have decided that in today’s business climate it is not financially possible to re-open the store. Rest assured this was a very difficult decision to make.

Many may be wondering what will be happening with the Pine Street property. We are currently in discussions with the city and the insurance company as to the options that are available. We would like to thank our dedicated staff for the many hours of hard work, and most of all we would like to thank our customers for the many great years of service we were able to provide.

This has been a difficult time for us, and we appreciate all the support.

Matt Daniels,

Schuette-Daniels Furniture