FREEHOLD TOWNSHIP – With signs up that read “all must go,” furniture retailer Huffman Koos is closing its store near Freehold Raceway Mall.
In advertisements and on social media, Huffman Koos said it has “lost our lease.” The 30,000-square-foot space, located on Trotters Way at the Raceway Village shopping center, is listed as available for lease, according to marketing materials online.
A representative with Huffman Koos could not be reached for comment. Huffman Koos has six stores, including locations in Watchung and Fairfield and three in New York. The Queens, New York, store also is closing.
Passaic-based Huffman Koos opened its Freehold Township store in 2014 and closed its briefly in 2017 for remodeling and rebranding.
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The chain that owns the Huffman Koos name is a recent incarnation of a furniture brand that can trace its roots back 100 years. The original Huffman Koos chain filed for bankruptcy in 2004, and the brand name was acquired in 2005 by Andrew Mehran, who at the time operated the Moda furniture chain.
The previous owner of the Huffman Koos brand, Breuners Home Furnishings Corp., had 47 furniture stores in six states, operating under the Huffman Koos and Good’s Furniture names, when it filed for bankruptcy protection.
The Huffman Koos brand got its start in 1917, when the Koos brothers opened their first roadside store in Rahway. In 1970, the Koos Brothers merged with Huffman Boyle Furniture, to become Huffman Koos. In 1998 the Wayside Furniture chain, with stores in Connecticut and New York, joined the company and became Huffman Koos stores in 2002.
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The impending closure in Freehold Township still leaves plenty of alternatives for customers looking for furniture. Bob’s Discount Furniture and Raymour & Flanigan is the same shopping center.
Arhaus Furniture and Ashley Furniture HomeStore is at Freehold Raceway Mall and La-Z-Boy has a store on West Main Street, also known as Route 537.
The Asbury Park Press archives and NorthJersey.com contributed to this report.
David P. Willis, an award-winning business writer, has covered business and consumer news at the Asbury Park Press for more than 20 years. He writes APP.com’s What’s Going There and Press on Your Side columns and can be reached at [email protected]. Join his What’s Going There page on Facebook for updates.
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