Levin Furniture plans grand opening for Niles store

Staff report

NILES

Levin Furniture will continue its expansion into the Youngstown area this weekend with the grand opening of a store at 836 Youngstown-Warren Road.

Levin was founded in Mount Pleasant, Pa., in 1920. The company remained family-owned until last year, when it was acquired by Boston-based private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners.

Over the years, it opened dozens of stores in the Pittsburgh and Cleveland areas. With Youngstown centrally located between the two cities, Levin has long eyed this market as a growth opportunity.

That vision became reality this year when Levin took over three former Goldsteins Furniture locations in Boardman, Hermitage, Pa., and Niles.

The two other stores are already open, bringing Levin’s total number of furniture and mattress showrooms to about 40.

“Now they’ve kind of connected the dots. They’re in the Youngstown market,” said Niles store manager Debbie Filipovich. “They already know what our customer base really wants.”

“Levin Furniture has created a new home in the Youngstown area with three beautiful new showrooms,” said Chris Pelcher, Levin Furniture executive vice president and general manager. “It is a thrill to assist families here create the home of their dreams which perfectly reflects their personal style.”

Levin made some improvements to its new locations before opening, including to the 52,000-square-foot showroom in Niles.

“They made everything much fresher and brighter,” said Filipovich. “It’s a more open feeling. It’s just really more inviting.”

A ribbon-cutting for the new store, which will be attended by city officials and Levin executives, will take place at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. Guests are invited to enjoy refreshments, entertainment, a live radio remote and the chance to register for door prizes during the grand opening celebration.

The store, which will employ 22 associates (many of whom are former Goldsteins employees), will carry name brands such as Flexsteel and La-Z-Boy, as well private collections such as Amish Village, which is made in Ohio; West Coast Style; and Grand Legacy.

Those who attended the two previous grand opening events are registered to win a $5,000 Levin Furniture shopping spree. Those names will be added to those who enter at Saturday’s grand opening. The grand prize winner will be announced later this month.

The store’s hours are 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sundays.