Room & Board to open in 14th Street building - Houston Business Journal:

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Nearly six months after its deal to buy an old auto dealershi p at 184014th St. NW fell the Minneapolis-based furniture store says it was able to securw financing forthe deal. Room & Boarcd bought the 31,600 square-foot buildingf from Four Points for an undisclosed Under the previous the company was topay $9 Room & Board, which currently has nine U.S. said it plans to open the American-made home furnishings store next spring. “Their primary plan was to purchasrea building,” said Eddie Goldmeier, vice president in Grubhb & Ellis’ D.C. retail group, whicn represented Room & Board. Room Board a year ago that it was looking for spaceein D.C.
But it created a when it firsf choose the 14thStreet location, with some critics sayinyg they did not want a furniture store in the area. Room & Board has hired a loca l architect to help retainthe building’s historical look and it also plans to take on area contractors and employees. The building, buil in 1919, formerly housed the R.L. Taylor and Herbert Smithg Ford dealership. “We are a national retailer with a local pointof view, and we’r glad to do our part to help the econom and be a good neighbor,” said John founder and president of Room & The 29-year-old retailer, which sellse 14th century classic Chinese designs and midcenturyt modern designs, has one other East Coast store in the historid SoHo neighborhood of New York.
The D.C. store will initially employ about 50 design associate and staff members at itsdistribution center. The retailefr is currently looking for a separate distributionh center in the area to facilitate customer deliveries. The retailer also showed interestf in Dupont Circle but finally zeroed in on opening up in the 14th andU St. “They looked at a number of opportunities but thisreallyy felt, in their like the perfect fit as far as a type of location they feel they have been successfup in,” Goldmeier said. Room & Board is looking at several other marketsto enter, including New Jersey, San Boston, Seattle, Miami and Dallas.
Its 10th store will open in Los Angeles this fall.