By Ofelia Saenz, Staff Writer
In 1941, Karl and Dolly Ward sold their 1937 Plymouth and used the money, along with a small loan from a friend, to open Ward’s Furniture in the Wrigley neighborhood of Long Beach.
In spite of bad timing (just one month later, the United States entered World War II), the store survived even while so many others succumbed to the difficulties of a deflected economy and wartime rationing. In the beginning, the couple could only afford to carry an inventory of one stove at a time and each time they made a sale they would drive up to Los Angeles to replace it with another.
Today, Ward’s Furniture sells more than just a stove at a time–the family-owned and operated business, now in its fourth generation of family employees, specializes in home theater equipment, furniture and appliances.
It still exists in the same Wrigley location where the Wards started their venture more than six decades ago–but not for long. The business has finally outgrown its nest and on Friday, June 1, it will move to the Victoria Business Park in North Long Beach.
“Where my grandparents use to pick up one stove at a time, we now receive our stoves in containers, 120 at a time,” said Brad Ward, the store’s general manager. “We just don’t have the facilities to handle that here.
The store, Ward said, has been able to survive by reinventing itself as the largest LG/Zenith education products dealer on the West Coast and also by servicing the appliance needs of more than 300 property management companies throughout Southern California. Although retail business once made up 100 percent of Ward’s sales, it now only makes up about 10 percent.
The decision to move, according to Ward, was a difficult one to make. In addition to being a family born and raised in Long Beach, the Wards have a history of involvement in the community.
Following in the tradition of his father, uncles and grandfather, Ward is currently the committee chairman for Goodwill Industries. He has also served as past president for the Wrigley Neighborhood Association and has been very involved at Long Beach Poly-technical High School and its aquatics program.
“Our roots are really deep and moving is really tough,” Ward said. Although they scouted properties in Carson, Signal Hill, Los Alamitos and Paramount, nothing felt right. It was important to the family to find a Long Beach location. In addition to providing the much-needed warehouse space the current location lacks, the new store is just minutes from Ward’s Bixby Knolls home, which is just a block from the house in which he grew up.
“I am very sad about leaving this neighborhood,” he said. “The Wrigley neighborhood has been very special to us.”
The Ward’s Furniture location at 1855 Pacific Avenue in Long Beach will remain open until Thursday, May 31. Stop by and take advantage of its storewide clearance sale. The new location at 125 West Victoria Street will open Friday, June 1.
For more information, call (562) 591-2314.
