Seeing furniture on hand trucks and not on the showroom floor doesn’t necessarily mean retirement for Gary and Jody Dykes.
Closing the family-run furniture store will open another door, perhaps to another line of work that will keep loyal customers in the fold, Gary Dykes said.
“We’ve been blessed with our customer base, so this is difficult,” he said this past week as Dykes Furniture Center shut its doors at 2500 Washington Street for the final time. The furniture outlet opened in 1947, when he was barely a year old.
“I took my first steps in here,” Gary Dykes said.
The store and adjacent property was sold to Madison-based S&F Building LLC in a deal that closed Dec. 19, according to property records. Reached Wednesday, the firm’s lone member, Ahmed Kayed, said he wasn’t sure of his plans for the building. The company was classified with the North American Industry Classification System as a lessor of mini-warehouses and self-storage units, according to formation papers filed Dec. 15 with the Secretary of State’s Office.
A second family-owned furniture outlet, Thomas Furniture, 2009 Drummond St., is in the process of closing and has advertised price markdowns of its inventory. A call to owner Stephen Haik was not returned. The business began in 1948 and has operated in multiple locations in and around downtown Vicksburg.
Slower regular business and long hours spent as a two-person operation took its toll over time, Jody Dykes said.
“It’s hard to find good employees these days,” she said.
Dykes Furniture made its mark by selling familiar home furnishings — everything from sofas to bedroom mirrors. More recently, the store sold older pieces perfect for art displays, such as delightfully tattered benches and wicker chairs.
“Our area is more rustic than most places,” Gary said.
Dykes’ departure from Washington Street and Thomas’ pending closure on Drummond leaves five storefront furniture retailers in Vicksburg — Marcus Furniture, at 1210 Washington St.; 1st Choice Home Furnishings of Vicksburg, 2904 Clay St.; and Wholesale Import & Liquidation, 2006 Clay St.; Levee Street Marketplace, 1001 Levee St., and Hotel Furniture Warehouse, 2133 Washington St. Three others rent or lease furniture, Aaron’s, 1315 Clay St., Rent-A-Center, 2200 Clay St., and Bestway Rent To Own, 3403 Pemberton Square Blvd.