Business Spotlight
Furniture ADAMS FURNITURE
WITH A HISTORY by Diane Ciarloni
J
ustin, TX, just feels like the perfect backdrop for a place like Adams Furniture. Justin was settled by 70 people in 1848. The plan was to create a Utopian society. Its failure was official one year later.
Not much came out of Justin for the next 30 years or so. Then came the railroad, and the steam-powered locomotives
belched new life into the area. A post
office was granted in 1887, and the littletown-that-could became an established shipping and
salvage location. Adams Furniture first appeared in 1929 as Adams Cash Store, more of a general mercantile than
anything else. The
shelves were stocked
The present, sprawling store was built in 1938 and, today, it’s stuffed to the rafters with a broad selection of quality, American-made furniture. Owner Jim Smith was 16 when he started
Adams takes deepseated pride in having 85 to 90-percent American-made inventory.
with shoes, hardware, guns, hunting and fishing equipment, and anything else a
family living in North Texas might need.
Adams takes deep-seated pride in
having 85 to 90-percent American-
made inventory. According to Smith,
this is based on four primary reasons. First, it helps the American economy and American craftsmen. Second, it
offers superior quality. Third, the lack of
dangerous chemicals makes it family safe. Fourth, there are many more options to
working at the store
avoid cookie-cutter designs.
in 1969. “I became
No furniture is sold online because
a small percentage partner in 1979 and bought out the previous owners in 1982,” he explained. Adams’ market is within a 15-mile
radius of Justin, tapping into a 200,000 population. Most customers come from word-of-mouth marketing.
pictures can be deceiving. Neither are
prices posted online because of the broad choice of options.
Adams stays current in styles by traveling to markets in North Carolina and Las
Vegas. “We also have reps come to the
store and show what they have available,” Jim said.
When you think about it, that’s impressive for a town that failed after just one year!
940.648.3145 • ShopAdamsFurniture.com • 417 FM 156 • Justin, TX 76247 www.LantanaLiving.com
NOVEMBER 2020 | LANTANA LIVING | 15
