Jason Wilson has made a few decisions and it’s important the public understands what is located where.
Following a devastating fire that destroyed two Wilson Furniture buildings in Bridgeport, Ohio, on Nov. 18, 2022, the company consolidated its surviving inventory into a third structure while demolishing one and preparing to do the same to the other. Wilson, the owner and operator of Wilson Furniture, insisted that’s exactly where Wilson Furniture will remain, and, in fact, Wilson’s La-Z-Boy Comfort Studio will stay right where it rests at 253 US-250.
OK, now, Wilson also is about to open a new furniture store, but not a second Wilson Furniture Store. Instead, in the “power center” area of The Highlands along Interstate 70, the East Ohio businessman will open the Ashley Home Store before Thanksgiving.
“Working with the people that take care of The Highlands has been great because they’ve been very responsive to our questions or any needs we’ve had, and everyone has been very professional during the entire process,” reported Wilson, also the owner of several Wilson Funeral Home locations. “Brian Taylor is the gentleman I speak with the most when I need a ladder or a key, and he’s even come up in his free time when I’ve had something.
“It’s been those little things and it’s really made me even more comfortable with this (project),” he said. “The location is great, and The Highlands has been a very successful development for a lot of years, but I’ve really enjoyed all of the help they’ve given us while we prepare to open in the very near future.”
The Highlands welcomed Cabela’s in 2004 as its first tenant, and the development has added several big-box retailers and smaller shops, eateries, light industry, and service businesses. The owners of the Guntry Club announced last week they will build the company’s second location which will feature multiple indoor and outdoor shooting ranges, an interactive simulator, and a training room large enough for 80 individuals.
“I remember coming up here with (then-West Virginia governor) Bob Wise and (then-Ohio governor) Ted Strickland and a guy named (congressman) Charlie Wilson and there really wasn’t very much up here,” Wilson said. “We stared at a field and it was really hard back then to imagine what it could become, but it has continued to grow and now attracts shoppers from three states. That’s impressive.
“That’s why we’re hoping to have eight to 10 employees at our Ashley location, and there will be another five or six employees at the warehouse,” he explained. “And the (customer) traffic will determine everything from there, but I believe the people in this area are going to love the Ashley inventory we have here at The Highlands. We’ve had recliners and some other things, but there’s a lot more.”
OK, just to be clear, though, when the time arrives for Wilson to announce the beginning of his annual “Snow on Christmas” promotion, it will involve his furniture businesses in Bridgeport and NOT his new Ashley Home Store location at The Highlands.
The weather on Christmas 2020 did trigger the promotion and Wilson said more than $100,000 worth of chairs, sofas, and bedroom suits were claimed by customers.
“The snow promo definitely is for Wilson Furniture and the La-Z-Boy business, and not for the Ashley Home Store because Ashley has its own marketing plan that is 52 weeks a year,” he said. “And they do a great job at putting out information about the inventory that we will have in the showroom every single day. We’ve sold Ashley recliners and some other items for a number of years, but our store will have much more.
“Maybe the biggest difference for me is that everything will be on the same floor and not on two or three floors above me like it was in Bridgeport before the fire,” Wilson added. “It’s a brand new business model for us and we’re all looking forward to when we finally open.”
