Yesterday's Furniture rises from the ashes

Chris Apple was only 10 when he refinished his first piece of furniture, an oak mirror.

His dad, Louis Apple, opened Yesterday’s Furniture, a used furniture store, at 316 S. Lincoln Ave. in 1990. Retail was big then, and refinishing was a side business.

Then Louis got sick. His son, Chris, the youngest of 10 siblings and only about 21 at the time, bought it a year later, and has been running it ever since.

“Antiques sold well in the ‘90s, but kids want new furniture now,” Apple said. “The economy hurt us, and used/retail businesses in Dixon just haven’t made it. Not too many get into refinishing because it’s a lot of work; it’s a dirty business.”

On April 1, that business came to a stop. It was Apple’s 45th birthday. Around 10 p.m., someone knocked on the door, and told him, “Your shop is on fire!”

The fire started in the dumpster; it was the second dumpster fire in Dixon that night. Fire damage was minimal, but the water ruined everything, and the building, more than 100 years old – home to Westtown Grocery for 72 years, and the Lincoln Avenue Market since the ‘50s – was not insured.

Apple had managed to save all of his customers’ furniture. He put his inventory out to the street, and “people were great.”

“Our building held childhood memories for them,” he said. “They came by, looked at the stuff, gave a few dollars, and told us they were behind us.”

But the fire put him at a crossroads, with a decision to make. “Whatever we were going to do, we had to get going. All my used furniture was gone. So, I made the decision to get out of the retail business, and just focus on the refinishing.”

He set up shop in his garage, and in 2 days, Yesterday’s Furniture was back in business. The front building was razed.

“God was looking out for me, because during the fire, we were working on the largest floor-refinishing job we have ever done – Franklin Grove Lincoln Way Inn,” Apple said. “ This job provided the resources we needed to make repairs, [put up] vinyl siding, and quadruple the workshop.

“We were done in 2 weeks. We have new equipment, and we can do better work.”

He also plans to add a building to hold customers’ furniture.

He’s a bit apprehensive about the winter.

“This is our first winter without retail, but our refinishing business is growing,” he said.

Ninety percent of refinishing cost is labor. Apple still hand-strips all wood — he has no dip tank — and glues, sands, stains, and sprays on the finish.

Floors are done by hand, too. His process gets rid of pet stains and odors, and can be done in a matter of hours.

He also can match wood stains, repair and replace missing parts, cane, make window frames, refinish staircases, and sand-blast old hardware and metal radiators.

And he isn’t in it alone: His wife, Sara, their three boys and his sister, Mary Rippeon, all help with the business.

Yesterday’s Furniture will celebrate its 25th year in April. Apple is grateful.

“It was a struggle – a fight – it cost a lot of money, but we are still here.”

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