Kevin Pierce

J & S Appliance and Home Furnishings

529 Marlin Ave., Warrenton

This local business has grown over the years from a downtown Astoria basement, carefully nurtured by family commitment and fed by community trust. Twelve years ago it blossomed into the big new building we see on Marlin Avenue just off U.S. Highway 101 in Warrenton. The store is open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday and noon to 4 p.m. Sunday. For more information, call (503) 861-0929 or visit the Web site at (www.jandsappliance.com)

What do you do?”We provide sales and service for quality name brand appliances, furniture, mattresses and dining sets. If we can’t service it, we won’t sell it. We carry GE appliances, Sealy and Serta Made mattresses and numerous brands of home furnishings. Half of the furnishings are of Oregon manufacture and 25 percent of the other half are made in Washington. We do not charge a sales tax in Washington and we offer free delivery everywhere. We remove and dispose appliances we replace. We also sell reconditioned appliances about as fast as we can fix them. There is a waiting list for refrigerators. All of our technicians have full college certification and go through monthly up-dates to keep current with all that is new with all of the manufacturers.”

How did this business get its start?”My dad and mom started this business as a repair shop for used appliances in the basement of Hildebrands Furniture in Astoria in 1984. My dad went to Lewis and Clark College in 1977 to earn a degree in Applied Science of Major Appliance and Business and had businesses in Okanogan (Wash.) and Spokane (Wash.) before moving here. In 1989 the business moved to Commercial Street where it eventually occupied three stories. In 1992 it expanded to include new appliances and in 1996, by special request, began offering furniture by special order. We built the store here in 1997.”

What is your volume of business?”Our service department gets about 40 calls a day. Our overall volume is $2.5 million annually. We have not seen any reflection of the down economy, and in fact last August was a record month. People have a long-standing trust with us and know they are getting what they are paying for. Customer service is what we are all about and everyone knows this.”

Are you doing anything special to cope with the recession?”We carry less-expensive furniture and we concentrate on Oregon-made products. This keeps the shipping costs way down, especially when we can pick up the product our- self. Overall, I don’t see that this immediate area has been affected. Tourists are still coming and because of vacation rentals we do a lot of business with visitors.”