We are a family-owned business that has been locally owned and operated in the Triangle area since 1978.
Our father started building furniture in his back yard and selling it at the State Fairgrounds flea market on the weekends. It was a hobby and intended to fill his passion for wood working. After a few years of this, he began to realize that custom pieces weren’t quite his cup of tea, but the enjoyment of working with customers and running his own “small business” was.
Photo of shop where our Dad started building furniture.
At the flea market, we started out specializing in quality oak kitchen table and chair sets, a few cupboards, china cabinets, and pie safes. Everything was warehoused unfinished in the wood shop behind his house. We had a finishing booth there where we custom finished pieces for sale.
After the oldest son (Thomas) finished school, in 1988, he opened a store in Hillsborough, NC. Here we continued to sell the oak furnishings we showcased at the flea market and added an upholstery line and bedroom line.
The youngest son, (Michael) finished school and joined the family business in 1991. We continued to run the store in Hillsborough, as well as our booth at the flea market.
In 1993, we began looking for a location in the Raleigh area. We found a location on Glenwood Avenue that was about to become available near the airport. It was an old shooting range that the tenants were terminating. In the spring of 1995, we moved the Hillsborough store to Raleigh and opened under the name “The Oak Store, Furniture”. Tragically at the same time as our store opening, our father passed away from a heart attack.
We operated the flea market and Glenwood Avenue location for two more years, and then closed the flea market booth in 1997. We operated the store near the airport until October 2004. We then bought the former Pizza Inn location on Glenwood Avenue, and built the store we are in today. When we moved, we created a leather gallery and expanded our wood offerings to include not only oak, but cherry, Para wood, maple, pine, and other select hardwoods.
Today, we are slowly changing our identity to the “Leather and Wood Furniture Gallery”. Our selection of quality furniture continues to be our top priority. Our leather gallery continues to grow but without sacrificing our quality bedroom, dining, entertainment centers and home office.
We would love for you to come out and visit us. The owners, Thomas and Michael, are there most days and would like to meet you.
