Taft Furniture Clodes its Doors
Grasping plastic flutes of champange, about 40 people paid tribute to Taft Furniture on its final day of business Saturday.
“People have said this champagne is the only thing you’ve given away in this store. I want to say that friendship and love were given away in this store,” Dr. Ed Clement said. “I hope you always remember what an institution you guys have been in
Taft Furniture started in 1897 when 30-year-old Edmund Hoover Taft opened a store on
E.H. Taft’s sons, Joseph M. Taft and Williams Taft Sr., joined the business in the 1920s. They remained active in the business — William until his death in January 1984 and Joseph into the 1990s.
Bill Taft Jr. has operated the store for more than four decades, along with his cousins, Joe, Louis and Edgar Taft.
Taft had a history of long-time employees who became like family, Bill Taft Jr. said.
“We have been truly a family tradition among ourselves and among the community, too, I think,” he said.
Taft Furniture expanded during a downtown redevelopment push in the 1970s and boosted its showroom space to 34,000 square feet.
The property has been sold to Jarvis.
“I’m sad because this business has been part of my whole life,” said Cissy Taft Hicks, 40, of
