Poland Furniture owners: We’re ready to move on

By Don Shilling

Crowds flocked into Poland Furniture for the first day of a store closing sale.

BOARDMAN — Brad Schumer just smiled and shrugged when asked why he was closing Poland Furniture Accessories.

“We’re just going to take a different path in our lives,” said Schumer, 52, of Poland, who owns the store with his sister, Margie Brady.

Schumer said the closing of the Boardman-Poland Road store has nothing to do with the store’s revenue or with the area economy.

“There’s nothing behind it, really. It’s just time to move on,” he said.

He added that he doesn’t have any specific plans about what he will do next but has some opportunities he’s looking into. He said it is possible he could stay in the furniture business but didn’t want to elaborate.

The store was closed for three days to prepare for the liquidation sale that started Thursday. Crowds flocking into the store saw tags on the furniture with prices that had been crossed out. Sales representatives were busy trying to keep up with customers who wanted more information.

Schumer said he expects the closing sale to last 12 weeks. The store has 11 employees in addition to family members.

The family owns the plaza near the Interstate 680 interchange and is looking for a tenant to occupy the store site.

Schumer’s father, Mel, started the store in 1953 under the name Poland Countryside Furniture.

Back then, Boardman-Poland Road was more like a quiet country lane than a busy, retail thoroughfare.

The Countryside name was used until 2003, when the new name was adopted and the showroom was remodeled.

Mel Schumer retired in 1978 and now lives in Florida. Brad Schumer said that neither he nor his sister have children who are in the business.

Schumer said he will miss working with his employees and customers the most.

“The business has been good to us,” he said.

shilling@vindy.com