Schoenfeld Furniture closed; owner retiring

OLYMPIA - The downtown McHugh's Ken Schoenfeld Furniture store has closed because the longtime owner plans to retire, according to a letter mailed to residents Saturday.

“After over 50 years in the furniture business, John McHugh, owner of McHugh’s Ken Schoenfeld Furniture, is retiring,” the letter states.

The letter goes on to say that the store is “now closed” while the business prepares for a private sale of its furniture from Oct. 14-17.

“Our building has been sold and must be evacuated,” the letter states.

The store has been located at its prominent site at 403 Capitol Way S. since the mid-1980s.

McHugh family members could not be reached for comment Saturday. The family has previously discussed moving in connection with a proposed development near its building.

A company called Colpitts Development Co. LLC of Seattle, known for developing multifamily apartment projects, acquired a lot near the furniture store in 2008 with plans to eventually build a seven-story, mixed-use apartment building with 120 apartment units.

The McHughs, who own the Ken Schoenfeld Furniture stores in Olympia and Hoquiam, later sued the City of Olympia over environmental contamination near the Capitol Way site. They also have expressed concerns about losing parking spots to the proposed development.

One of the family owners, Kevin McHugh, told The Olympian in 2008 that he was considering moving the business to Lacey.

“We’ve loved being part of the Olympia business community, and to be kind of forced out like this is a tragedy,” he said at the time.

The family later dropped its lawsuit with the city, and the Colpitts project has yet to materialize.

Rolf Boone: 360-754-5403 rboone@theolympian.com www.theolympian.com/bizblog

This story was originally published October 10, 2010 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Schoenfeld Furniture closed; owner retiring."