Gena Behrens, chief operating officer of the Fresno Chamber of Commerce, poses for a photo with Grover Geiselman, founder and CEO of La Mirada-based Living Spaces, at the grand opening on Feb. 6. Photo by Ben Hensley
Written by Ben Hensley
Fresno’s newest furniture store opened its doors Thursday evening, bringing representatives from across the state and customers from across the Valley to check out its opening-day deals, festivities and one-of-a-kind customer amenities at its retail space near River Park.
With more than 100,000 square feet of showroom, beer-and-wine bar, a low-priced snack café and dedicated kids play area, Living Spaces, located at 7354 N. Abby St., in Fresno, looks to offer a new experience in furniture shopping for the Central Valley.
Grover Geiselman, founder and CEO of La Mirada-based Living Spaces, praised the ribbon cutting for its turnout, adding that the RSVP list had to be closed off due to space — a first for the 42-store chain.
“Fresno is such an exciting, growing market here in the Central Valley,” Geiselman said. “I’ve been listening to our retail leaders talk about the quality of talent in this market.”
Geiselman praised his staff, adding that everyone that the company spoke to was both talented and qualified. There are about 80 employees at the Fresno location.
At the ceremony, he invited Nichole McCutchan, the company’s regional human resources manager, to cut the ribbon and offer comments to the new staff.
“Just, thank you,” she said. “I’m so proud of this team and I’m very thankful to be a part of this.”
The Fresno location is the former home to Boomers! amusement park which closed its doors in 2017. After sitting vacant for nearly a decade, construction began on the new store last year, drawing quite a bit of looks and curiosity from motorists passing by on nearby Highway 41.
The store is the 21st in California. Living Spaces also has locations in Texas, Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Kansas, Nevada and Oklahoma.
In addition to furniture, home decor, mattresses and more, the store also features amenities not often seen in local retail. This includes a secure kids play area for children to enjoy themselves while their parents shop.
There’s a cafe that offers snacks and drinks at affordable prices — no item on the menu costs more than $3. Beverages including wine, beer and seltzers are available for $2 at an in-store bar.
Living Spaces Fresno is open from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily and offers customer pickup from noon to 8 p.m. daily. Its café operates from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily and personal appointments are available daily from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., and can be booked online.
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