{"id":53731,"date":"2025-12-06T13:56:12","date_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:56:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/53731\/"},"modified":"2025-12-06T13:56:12","modified_gmt":"2025-12-06T13:56:12","slug":"in-south-whitehall-furniture-store-prioritizes-heirloom-quality-and-family-for-20-years","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/53731\/","title":{"rendered":"In South Whitehall, furniture store prioritizes heirloom quality and family for 20 years"},"content":{"rendered":"

Selling items that last for decades may not sound like the best business model.<\/p>\n

But for 20 years, Ebert Furniture Gallery has prided itself in selling high-qualify, American-made furniture made to last.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m in business now over 21 years, and I have customers just now replacing sofas and chairs and recliners that they bought from me in 2004,\u201d store owner Greg Ebert said.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s the year Ebert opened Ebert Furniture Gallery at 3602 Broadway in South Whitehall Township, selling sofas, chairs, dining sets, beds, desks, TV stands, artwork, rugs, and services for interior design and home decoration.<\/p>\n

After being honorably discharged from the Marine Corps in 1993, Ebert took business classes at night and worked at various furniture stores over the next decade in the Lehigh Valley, including La-Z-Boy on MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.<\/p>\n

\u201cFrom the time I started in \u201993 until 2003, I saw a progressive decline in the quality of furniture that was offered by local retailers,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd the main reason for this was a lot of established brands had gone to China and Vietnam, and they were sacrificing quality for price. Now, that was the main complaint of the customers. They\u2019d rather \u2026 you get what you pay for, and they didn\u2019t want disposable furniture. They wanted furniture that was going to last like what they had previously purchased.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebert\u2019s opportunity at the Broadway property came when owner David W. Haines of Joseph I. Haines Appliance Store<\/a> retired and sold the building.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen I started looking at the building, they still had appliances in here,\u201d he said. \u201cThey were nearing retirement \u2014 really, really nice family, they still live locally \u2014 and that\u2019s when we looked at it and we said, \u2018Wow, this is an ideal location that hardly needs any modification.\u2019 \u201c<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re actually getting a better value when you buy a better product, and it\u2019s better for everything,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s better for the environment, it\u2019s made by people that are making a living wage, so it\u2019s just better for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

Overall, furniture is a $172.5 billion industry in the United States, according to industry analysis firm IBISWorld<\/a>. There are more than 59,000 furniture stores as of 2025, a figure that has grown and is dominated by big brands like Ashley Furniture \u2014 which holds the largest market share \u2014 and Williams-Sonoma, IBISWorld said.<\/p>\n

According to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis<\/a>, more than $11.6 billion was spent on furniture in the U.S. in August 2025, the latest data available. That\u2019s up from $11 billion the prior year but down from a high of $12.6 billion in January 2023. Sales also are largely dependent on the economy; they tanked during the COVID pandemic in 2020, as well as during the recession that began in 2008, data shows.<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery lived through those economic downturns while fighting against what Ebert said was a decline in furniture quality \u2014 98% of the store\u2019s merchandise is manufactured in the United States, including nearby in Lebanon and Punxsutawney. Customers have included not only individual residents but also Coca-Cola Park, Hotel Bethlehem and ZEST Bar + Grille.<\/p>\n

Ebert\u2019s memories at the store include not only building his relationships with customers, but also with his family. His wife, Roey, is responsible for the store\u2019s artwork, and their children, Max, Vivien, Jack, Lana, Duke and Pierce, have all worked there at one point or another.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe kids have helped in the store from little on up,\u201d Ebert said. \u201cSo usually starting in about middle school, they start helping in the warehouse, they cut the grass and [help] with deliveries. I work a lot and it\u2019s enabled me to spend more time with my children as they help me in the business. And they still do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

\"Ebert<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Show Caption<\/p>\n

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Ebert Furniture Gallery is seen Friday, Oct. 10, 2025, in South Whitehall Township. (Amy Shortell\/The Morning Call)\n<\/p>\n

Expand<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s been great, always working with some type of family member, so it\u2019s been fun,\u201d said Jack, who now works in sales at Cintas. \u201cIt makes it easier to communicate, I\u2019d say.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s kind of crazy to realize that he\u2019s been doing it for 20 years, but it\u2019s impressive,\u201d said Lana, who works for the federal government in Virginia.<\/p>\n

With 30 years of painting experience, Roey uses acrylic paint and sometimes oil for creating floral and landscape paintings \u2014 \u201cnot a lot of realism, but my paintings have a lot of texture.\u201d<\/p>\n

Regarding how far the furniture gallery has come, Roey said, \u201cWhen you think of where we started \u2026 it\u2019s just so great, and I\u2019m really proud of Greg and the kids are so proud of him too. It\u2019s just really a great feeling, to know that the community supports him and that it\u2019s stood the test of time. And that when he puts furniture in the home, then it\u2019s really nice quality because he spends a lot of time really, really thinking about the quality of furniture that goes into a home.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ebert Furniture Gallery\u2019s showroom is open 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. It offers design services by appointment.<\/p>\n

Lehigh Valley retail and restaurant news in brief<\/p>\n

Barley Creek Taproom Saucon opened at Promenade Saucon Valley<\/a> in Upper Saucon Township.<\/p>\n

Staples will close Jan. 2 at the Whitehall Square<\/a> shopping center at 2180 MacArthur Road in Whitehall Township.<\/p>\n

Children\u2019s Art Classes held a grand opening and ribbon cutting Wednesday at 327 S. Cedar Crest Blvd. in Allentown, the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce announced in a news release, where it offers art education for children.<\/p>\n

HiJinx Brewing Co. will close its taproom<\/a> on Dec. 20 at 905 Harrison St. in Allentown and end brewery operations at the location Dec. 31.<\/p>\n

The pet salon Velvet Tails \u2013 Luxury Pet Services held a grand opening Friday at 39 Belvidere St. in Nazareth, the Greater Lehigh Valley Chamber announced<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The Kawaii Shop has opened at Promenade Saucon Valley<\/a>, where it offers Japanese snacks, drinks, plush toys, ornaments, bags and artwork.<\/p>\n

Retail Watch is a weekly column covering retail and restaurant news in the Lehigh Valley. Have a question, tip, or want to see something in the area? Contact retail reporter Graysen Golter at retailwatch@mcall.com.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Selling items that last for decades may not sound like the best business model. But for 20 years,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":53732,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[14],"tags":[153,155,154,60,182,436,432],"class_list":{"0":"post-53731","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-bethlehem","8":"tag-bethlehem","9":"tag-bethlehem-headlines","10":"tag-bethlehem-news","11":"tag-business","12":"tag-local-news","13":"tag-retail","14":"tag-top-stories-tmc"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53731","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=53731"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/53731\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/53732"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=53731"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=53731"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=53731"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}