Let friends in your social network know what you are reading aboutTwitterGoogle+LinkedInPinterestPosted!A link has been posted to your Facebook feed. Log InSubscribed, but don't have a login?Activate your digital access.Gary and Gerald Mallin have been planning for retirement for some time now.But that doesn't mean it has been easy for customers of Leader Furniture to accept. After more than 50 years in the furniture business, the septuagenarian Mallin brothers will soon shutter the family owned Over-the-Rhine store and showroom to begin the next stage of their lives."No complaints," said Gerald Mallin, 77. "It has been good to us. To have a relationship, a partnership with your brother (for so long) is great.""It's time to sit down and smell the roses," Gary Mallin, 73, said.Leader Furniture, a seller of home furnishings, appliances and other items, launched a merchandise liquidation sale in late November in preparation for the closure. A closing date has not been set. Leader's multiple-floor Over-the-Rhine store, which fills 30,000 square feet of space, is being listed for sale.
The store at 130 W. Elder St. has been located at Findlay Market since 1963, but the business' roots date back 131 years. Leader forged its reputation in Cincinnati by working with customers from diverse backgrounds and taking risks on extending credit to cash-strapped customers. Customers and employees say the loyalty Leader developed is real and there are many families with multiple generations of shoppers."This is killing these customers," said Tuana Hart, a 16-year employee at Leader Furniture, adding that each of the store's 14 employees have spent more than a decade there. "People are loyal and they are so devastated by this closing." Hart said the store has gotten at least 40 calls per day within the last week from customers sharing a range of emotions from well-wishes to dismay.Thomas McAlpin III, a former Cincinnati cop and longtime customer and friend of the Mallins, said Leader's owners will be known for treating people like family. McAlpin said his father sold appliances to the store, but his relationship grew with the brothers while working the District 1 beat at the department."
We tried to treat our customers as family," Gary Mallin said. "If we had a problem, we'd work with them. We worked with anyone."Russian immigrant Morris Karp and his brothers founded Karp Bros. Furniture Co. and they operated the business along Fifth Street west of Elm Street. Karp's picture hangs on a wall in a back room of the Leader Furniture store as a remnant of the business' history.The original Karp Bros. home no longer stands, but the business later moved to 301 W. Fifth St., which is the current location of Prvlgd Lounge & Bistro. Prior to Leader Furniture, the company's Elder Street site had been home to Solway's Furniture.The Mallin family has been part of the business since 1954 when William Mallin, a former Avondale butcher, bought a stake in the business. William later formed Lezam Inc. in 1956 and that entity owns the Over-the-Rhine property and the company's former West Fifth Street space. Gerald Mallin said Lezam is mazel spelled backward, as in "mazel tov," or good luck in Hebrew.However, Gary and Gerald Mallin entered the business under unfortunate circumstances.
Neither one actually planned to sell furniture for a living. But after their father became ill, when Gerald and Gary graduated from the University of Cincinnati in the 1960s, they joined the business to protect their family's interests.William died in 1970 and four years later, the brothers bought out the Karp family's share of the business.The furniture business has seen massive changes in the last five decades. The internet is among the largest ones, but industry consolidation has put additional pressure on independent businesses. Those are all names of furniture stores that Leader outlasted.And it wasn't always easy. The store owners' mettle was seriously tested in 2001 when looting and destruction of Over-the-Rhine stores on Race and Vine streets followed protests about police-involved killings of black men and urban living conditions. Every piece of furniture, electronic equipment and other items on the showroom floor was stolen from the building one night in April 2001, Gerald Mallin said.
He said the store wouldn't have rebounded without help from city workers such as police officers and firefighters and neighborhood supporters."Over-the-Rhine is better than ever," he said. "But it's not at it's best yet. When the buildings get renovations and more people start living here, it'll be fabulous."Once the sales are complete in a few months, Gary and Gerald Mallin said they'll be ready for retirement. Both men said they've had an "unbelievable" relationship as business partners, but have also been able to maintain marriages and positive relationships with their children despite the long hours working at times."I'm ready, we're both ready," Gary Mallin said.The biggest debate for the brothers now is Cincinnati or Florida. Gary is Team Cincinnati and Gerald, who has had a Florida vacation home for more than a decade, is trying to convince his brother to move.But one thing is certain, it will be a joint decision.Gary and Gerald Mallin have been in the furniture business for more than 50 years through their management and ownership of Leader Furniture in Over-the-Rhine.
They shared tips about the keys to running a successful business being brothers."He was better at some things." - Gary"Never hold anything against each other." - Gerald"If one got a new car, the other would get a new car, that way, everything stays peaceful." - GeraldMore Stores Near You Pay Us a Visit! 9891 Colerain Ave Cincinnati, OH 45251513-923-4455 Cincinnati's La-Z-Boy furniture store provides an array of home furniture for you to choose from. Stop by or make an appointment with one of our design professionals today! At La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries, our design professionals will come to your home and help make your dreams a reality. When you enter a La-Z-Boy Furniture Galleries store, you enter a world of comfort, service, and selection. Imagine: every piece we show you fits your style, your budget. Give us the details. We’ll do the rest. Select here to find out more about incredible savings on genuine La-Z-Boy comfort at your local Furniture Galleries!