The best advertisement for Hardiman & Son Furniture doesn’t run in a newspaper – it’s the stacks of beanbag chairs on display in his front window.

“If I didn’t do anything else to get my name out, the beanbags would do it,” says owner Al Hoffman. “I’m on the corner and they have to stop for the red light. The kids see the beanbags and beg for them, and the mama and daddy come in the store to get the beanbags – and if I play my cards right, they’ll become repeat customers.”

Hoffman admits that the beanbag chairs take up a lot of space and don’t bring in a lot of money, but he still stocks at least 75 at any given time. “I bet I sell more beanbags than anyone in Rowan County. I’ve even put in my ads, ‘We’re the store with the beanbags in the window.’ ”

Of course, there’s a whole store full of furniture to back up the beanbags in the window. Hardiman & Son carries furniture for every room, including dining room and bedroom sets, recliners and sofas and, of course, mattresses and box springs.

“In my opinion, bedding has always been a furniture store’s staple, Hoffman says. “Most people have more than one bed, and they use it every day. But still people don’t buy mattresses as often as they should. If you hung them out like the laundry and the neighbors saw them, people would replace them more often. A lot of times when we deliver the new set through the front door, people want the old set to go out the back.”

Hardiman & Son, officially incorporated in 1936, actually was started 98 years ago, Hoffman says. W.E. Hardiman founded the store and ran the business with his son, Herman Hardiman Sr. Originally located in Spencer, the store started out selling things like bicycles, motor oil, auto parts and gasoline before shifting its focus to furniture.

The Hardimans moved the store to Main Street in Salisbury and operated there until relocating to its present home at 131 E. Innes St. in 1942. They also opened several other locations around the region, Hoffman says, but consolidated them when World War II came along. “You just about couldn’t get enough merchandise to run one location,” he explains. “People did what they had to do.”

Hoffman has been managing Hardiman & Son for more than 50 years, getting into the business after he married Herman Hardiman Sr.’s daughter. After Herman died and his children inherited the business, Hoffman bought his brother-in-law’s share and became the owner.

“What I like about it is that if you run your own business, the only people you take orders from are the customers,” Hoffman says. “You’re always going to have to take orders from somebody, but it makes it a little more palatable if it’s the customers.”

Hoffman says that competition from mass merchandisers has affected the way he does business and, to an extent, the merchandise he sells. He’s gotten out of the flooring business and carries some imported furniture lines.

“I hate to say it, but regardless of whether you carry a brand name or not, you are going to be selling items that are made overseas,” he says. Hardiman & Son sells furniture from both importers and domestic manufacturers, including Jackson Furniture, Cleveland Chair, Catnapper and Vineyard.

Beyond merchandise and price, Hoffman says, “There’s one thing the ‘big box’ stores will never have: Me.”

“We have been in business for generations,” he explains. “We would not still be in business had we not given excellent service and listened to our customers and taken care of any complaints they had. I still finance my own accounts, and I don’t know of many who do that these days. My customers come back to me because I treat them well. That’s the way it ought to be.”

Hardiman & Son Furniture
131 E. Innes St.
Salisbury, N.C. 28144
(704)633-2961

Hours of Operation:
Monday, Thursday and Friday, 9 a.m.-5:30 p.m.
Tuesday and Wednesday, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.
Closed Saturday and Sunday