Store manager Wesley Lewis and sales consultant Tecca Puckett are shown in the appliance department at Farmers Home Furniture. | Clif Knight

Hartselle welcomed a new retail furniture outlet with the opening of Farmers Home Furniture at 800 Hwy. 31, S, (Hartselle Plaza) on March 19.

The store is one of 187 furniture outlets the company owns and operates in the Southeast and one of 13 to be opened in Alabama in 2015. It occupies a space formerly used by Piggly Wiggly and features a 12,000 square foot show room.

Wesley Lewis of Cullman, a 35-year veteran in retail sales, heads up a staff of seven employees.

“We’re proud of our new store and welcome the opportunity to serve the home furnishing needs of Hartselle as well as Decatur, Priceville, Falkville and other surrounding communities,” said Lewis.  “Our store is stocked with a wide variety of brand new merchandise.  The selection includes leading brand names such as Catnapper upholstered furniture and Simmons, Serta, Paramount and Englander bedding.”

While shoppers may choose from merchandise that is displayed in the show room, they have the option of ordering direct from the company’s warehouse and receiving delivery in three days.

“Our focus is on customer service,” Lewis pointed out, “We offer in-store financing, delivery and setup anywhere in Morgan County.”

He said Farmers Home Furniture prefers to locate in small cities like Hartselle. It has stores in Cullman and Athens and will soon open new stores in Madison and Muscle Shoals.

“We feel like Hartselle is a great market for us,” Lewis said.

According to Lewis, the store will be staffed with seven employees and is currently taking applications for sales personnel and truck drivers.

Store hours are 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday and 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. on Saturday.

The company was founded by Sherwin Glass in Soperton, Ga. in 1949 and is currently employee-owned and based in Dublin, Ga.