Q&A with Janeen's

Two Decades in Downtown

Q&A with Janeen's Furniture Gallery, Inc. | Photos by Topograph

Janeen’s Furniture Gallery is celebrating 21 years in this month. Congratulations on two decades in business! This milestone is no small accomplishment considering only 25% of new businesses make it to 15 years or more, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics. We took some time to get to know Janeen and her team and to look back on their journey.

Q. Can you tell us a little about how Janeen’s started and how it has evolved into what it is today?

A. I started in the furniture business 36 years ago, and then opened the first Janeen’s Furniture on Floral and West in 2001, right after 9/11. It was a difficult time in our nation, but we gave it all to the Lord and we are so thankful to have been busy as soon as we opened. We were at that location for seven years and then in 2008, our current location became available. Even though we were going through a recession, we were again blessed to be able to buy it. We began construction right after we closed escrow that Spring of 2008 and were able to open a few days after our lease was up on September 1st. We literally left our previous location on a Friday and opened at the new location that Monday. We moved from a 2400sf space to 6500sf. We filled it up right away with our product. The Lord brought us through it all, including making it through Covid. We again gave it all to the Lord, and by the Monday after the shutdown, we were getting calls to make home visits and we offered curbside service. Our customer relationships are what helped sustain us.

Q. Celebrating 21 years in business is quite the achievement. Can you share any key things that have contributed to your success?

A. Customer service and building relationships has always been key to our success. We have great customers, generational customers— we’ve helped grandparents, parents, kids and even grandkids. We aim to give great service by focusing only on what they want and need. We care about them and their families; they are friends.

Sometimes they come in to visit and talk and it’s okay that they leave without buying anything. We are very grateful for that. I’d rather they get what they need somewhere else instead of pushing something on them they don’t need. We are about trust: sometimes they are shocked that we tell them they don’t need anything else when they want to buy more. We do a lot of secondary homes for clients and have helped refurbish new homes. We have done homes at the coast and Shaver Lake. We are thankful for it all. We get a lot of referral business, which is the best form of advertisement. Tanner and I both do a lot of consulting with our customers.

Q. What types of products and services do you offer?

A. We offer design services like decorating and furniture placement, all except picking out things like flooring and countertops. We sell our home decor items and furnishings right off the floor. Customers come in frequently because our store is constantly changing from one day to the next and they enjoy that things are always fresh.

Q: How many staff members do you have and what are the advantages of working with a local shop?

A. Janeen’s consists of me, my son Tanner, a part-time staff member, Lydia, and a few delivery people. The advantages of working with a small business is the opportunity to build personal relationships, and to work with a retailer who knows everything about their wares: the manufacturer, the materials, the fabric and construction. That's not something you're able to access online or in a big box store. Another bonus is getting unique, custom pieces for your home. Customers have the ability to talk directly to the owner, especially if they want more design services and advice. Shopping locally allows your money to go directly back into the community. We donate towards school auctions, local charities like CASA, and other non-profit organizations.

Q. How has the interior design industry and retail changed in recent years?

A. Online shopping is more easily accessible now, but we do sometimes help with correcting mistakes like replacing poor quality items or items that weren’t a right fit for a customer. Or they didn’t realize that something they purchased online required assembly. Here, the customer can touch and feel what they buy and we can guide them to what they need. Finding out if they have pets or children are key to helping them get what is best for them.

Q. We understand that you serve on the Downtown Visalia and the Property Owners boards. What do you enjoy most about having your storefront on Main Street and being involved with those organizations?

A. The best thing about being a part of downtown is learning about the mechanics of how things operate that are important, like the landscaping, security, street cleaning, and building relationships with other store owners and property owners. We work on creating ways to make our downtown better, like the beautification efforts and helping to bring both more business as well as more businesses in. It takes volunteers, financial support, passion for downtown, and wisdom from owners who have been around for a while to make it successful. We encourage downtown owners to join the boards because it’s educational and helpful to understand why things happen a certain way. Visitors from other cities and states have great things to say about our downtown and we will be even better once the businesses that are under construction open up (like The Mix and the old Picnic Shop building). Available and functional storefronts don’t sit empty for very long here.

Q. Is there anything on the horizon for Janeen’s or anything else you’d like to share with us?

A. We want our customers to know that we will be here for another 21 years and beyond. We love serving our community and plan to continue to help more generations to come.

janeensfurniture.com 559-625-8884 220 W. Main St., Visalia