After 53 years of satisfying customers, Kleon Furniture, a fixture of Union City’s business district, will close its doors for good at the end of July.
This may seem to some as just another local business biting the proverbial dust, but Kleon Furniture isn’t just another store – it’s become an institution.
The company, which sells all manner of home furnishings, has been in business for over 50 years and has served three generations of customers. Along the way, owner Leon Klein has become a bit of an institution himself.
“I was looking to retire,” Klein said in a recent interview. “My son, who’s been running the business with me for 30 years, wanted to do something new.”
Originally located in Hoboken at the intersection of Eighth and Madison streets, the business moved to 17th Street and Summit Avenue in Union City in 1990 after it became impossible for the small, local business to keep up with skyrocketing real estate costs in Hoboken.
Said Klein, “We’ve seen an awful lot of changes over the years. I’m sad, in a way, that we’re closing. A lot of our old-time customers have called and wanted to know why we were going out of business.”
According to Klein, the influence of the major chain superstores like IKEA and Levitz has less to do with the business closing than does his simple desire to move on and try something else in life. Besides, Kleon Furniture was always a local phenomenon, for the most part.
In a March 2003 Reporter article, Klein said, “Our clientele is local, basically. But we also get a lot of people from Pennsylvania and South Jersey…Many of our customers are the grandkids of people that used to come in years past. I think our success has been that we make sure the customer is completely satisfied. If they are satisfied, they tell their friends and family about it and those people come in. It’s really a simple thing, actually. We believe in doing business the old-fashioned way.”
And it was that down-home attitude that kept people coming back, generation after generation.
Said Klein, “We developed a lot of nice friendships and relationships over the years.”
A recent visit to the store saw a somewhat melancholy Klein who was nevertheless busy preparing for closing. Klein also seemed relieved. He said, “The building has been on the market for a while, and someone came along and made us an offer we couldn’t refuse. It was really time to do it. I’ve been at it for over 50 years. It’s time to live the good life, to stop and smell the roses. My wife has always said that I was more married to the business than I was to her.”
Klein stated that it is his strong intention, once the business’s doors are closed for good, to do some serious fishing.
Said Klein, “I want to go fishing. I like to fish up in the Ramapo Mountains. I’d also like to go on some mini-vacations.”
Continued Klein, “A customer asked me the other day, ‘What are you going to do?’ I jokingly responded, ‘I’m gonna chase 18-year old girls.’ She said, ‘Hey, chase 45-year-olds – they’re slower, and the 18-year-olds will kill you.”
And while Klein is sad to see the business that his father began over 50 years ago close, he is resigned to the future and what it holds for him.
Said Klein, “I knew from the beginning that I’d never be a millionaire, but we’ve had fun doing business. And if you don’t have fun at something, it isn’t worth doing.”
Kleon Furniture is currently running a “Going Out of Business” sale.
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