Young business owners re-energizing downtown
Brian Osterfeld is in the process of buying Tanger’s Furniture along with his partner Mandy Benton and her daughter Ellie, 4. They are among a wave of millennials opening new businesses or investing in existing ones throughout downtown Bellefontaine. (EXAMINER PHOTOS | REUBEN MEES)
When Brian Osterfeld and Mandy Benton first started getting interested in downtown Bellefontaine they were thinking kind of small — maybe a deli like the one they operate in Leipsic.
Little did the young couple know they would jump right into owning a store that has been a longtime anchor of downtown’s retail scene.
“We toured Bellefontaine and were really excited and inspired by what we saw here,” Mr. Osterfeld, 29, said. “I grew up in the furniture business and my dad owned a furniture store in Van Wert. So I decided on a whim I would introduce myself to the guy at the old furniture store.”
That was early spring and the guy was Tony Moon, who has owned Tanger’s Furniture since 1980.
“When I told him I might be interested if he ever thought about selling, he told me I’ve got about six months because he was planning to retire,” Mr. Osterfeld said. “As I got to know Tony and this business, I told Mandy we have got to make this happen.”
“We fell in love with the town, the store, the people here,” Ms. Benton, 31, added. “We were excited enough to try to make everything happen.”
The couple are in the process of buying the furniture store, which has been in business for 70 years, and they hope to carry on the personal touch of a family-owned small town business espoused by Mr. Moon and Charles Tanger before him. And they will continue to operate in the 216 W. Columbus Ave., building that has been home to a furniture store since the early 1900s.
Mr. Moon couldn’t be more delighted by the young couple’s decision to breathe new life into the store and legacy he helped shape.
“I’m really proud of what we’ve accomplished,” the retiring businessman said, fighting back tears. “I’m really tickled by their decision to keep it open as a family-owned business. I think these kids are going to knock it out of the park.”
Read complete story in Monday’s Examiner.
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Rob Nicholson is opening the Marketplace Café, specializing in healthy breakfast and lunches, in the near future.
Sisters Alysia Kuba, left, and Haley Palmer recently reopened the PeachTree Boutique at 129 W. Columbus Ave.
Nancy Funderburgh is excited about opening her Craft, Paper, Scissors store downtown amid a flurry of activity created by the young entrepreneurs.