Roy's Furniture Rebuilds Fire-Ravished Building, Offers Showroom Discounts

Rich Elliot frequents places where everyone knows his name. And in the furniture realm, that place is Roy's. 

"They're great," the 29-year-old Lincoln Park resident said, of the locally-owned store. "They remember your name and they call you back. The fact that they still exist when you have 'big box' competitors like Walmart, Target and Ikea, means they have to differentiate themselves. They do a very good job of that." 

Roy's Furniture has faced more roadblocks recently than simple "big box" stores. The company is currently in the process of rebuilding its facility at 2455 N. Sheffield Ave., after an extra-alarm May 29 fire that burned its Lincoln Park two-story store to the ground. The project—a modern, glass replacement—was supposed to break ground in August but was delayed more than a month because of city permits, said Roy's Spokeswoman Johanna Parra. 

"We lost everything. The estimated cost of damage was more than $1 million," she said, noting that her car was among the fire debris. "They're saying it was caused by gas leaks but they haven't really confirmed anything. It all happened so fast."

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In the days and months following the blaze, Roy's has maintained a presence in the community despite operating from a temporary showroom in its furniture warehouse at 2315 W. 27th St. Representatives are currently offering a 10 percent discount to anyone who mentions the "Lincoln Park Chamber of Commerce," Parra said, citing a partnership.

"We've been trying to keep some promotional offers to give our customers an incentive to make the drive," she said. "It's about 15, 20 minutes with traffic. … But we've gotten big-time support. So many people have come out. It's been really overwhelming, actually." 

Among their supporters is Elliot, who bought furniture from the store this past spring. He lives nearby to the former—and soon-to-be site—he said, and saw the smoke billowing that day.

"It was really crazy," he said, adding that he lives near Clark Street and Fullerton Avenue. "I couldn't believe it was happening."

The new furniture store will be about the same size—25,000 square feet, Parra said. The building will likely be complete in January.

"The former store was there for like, 30 years," Parra said. "It was a more traditional, older look. The new store is going to be very ultra modern—all glass, metal."

Roy's Furniture, owned by Roy Warner, has been in business in the community for about 30 years. The company specializes in customer service and custom pieces. It's now offering same-day delivery, Parra said.

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