Downtown furniture store to close

Classic Living's owner Kamran Baghestanian stands in the upstairs room that overlooks the furniture store on Thursday afternoon. Classic Living has been open in Lodi's Downtown for nine years. The store is currently in liquidation and will most likely close its doors in six to eight weeks. (Whitney Ramirez/News-Sentinel)

Downtown furniture store to close — owner wants a rest

By Ross Farrow
News-Sentinel Staff Writer

Friday, August 10, 2007 6:29 AM PDT

Comments (8 comment(s))

The bright, yellow signs with red print say it all.

"Store closing."

"Wall to wall."

"Total liquidation."

"Our loss, your gain."

Classic Living, a Downtown Lodi staple for the past nine years, is closing its doors as soon as its large volume of furniture is sold — in two months or so.

Classic Living occupies the largest space in Downtown Lodi — 30,000 square feet, including the basement.

The shop was buzzing with potential shoppers at the liquidation sale that began Thursday. Shoppers were looking at sofas, chairs, tables, beds, mirrors of all sizes, candles, paintings, crosses and other items.

"I'm sorry to see it close," said Lodi resident Emily Keesling, who has bought bedroom and living room furniture at Classic Living. "I like the idea of having more than one furniture store (in Lodi)."

Kamran Baghestanian is closing his custom furniture and Oriental rug business after nine years in Downtown Lodi. He's closing up shop for two major reasons — it's getting too expensive to run his business, and he is simply burned out.

"I'm physically and mentally tired," Baghestanian said. "When you own your own business, you take your work home with you."

Classic Living and other furniture stores have taken a hit of 40 to 50 percent of its profit margin because of freight, insurance and worker's compensation costs, Baghestanian said.

Baghestanian isn't sure what he will do once he closes Classic Living.

"I will have to do something, but I don't know what," he said. "I feel I will need a change. I can invest my money into something that can give me a better rate of return."

Baghestanian owns his 30,000-square-foot building, so he also needs to decide whether to start a new business there, sell the building or lease it to someone else.

But his top priority isn't work.

"I'm going to take a long vacation and clear my head — go on a cruise or something," he said.

Baghestanian is a fourth-generation seller of Oriental rugs. His father, Morry, still owns a store in East Sacramento, Morry's Oriental Rugs.

Classic Living at a glance

Location: 111 S. School St., Downtown Lodi
Hours: 10 a.m. to 9 p.m. Monday through Saturday for about two weeks and noon to 6 p.m. on Sunday. After that time, the hours may be reduced to 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Phone number: 367-5500.
Source: Kamran Baghestanian.

He initially opened his furniture store nine years ago in the old JC Penney building at 111 S. School St. simply to get people to buy his rugs. But the furniture business took off, so he shifted gears and continued with his furniture.

He grew up in Sacramento and opened his own store in Sacramento called Kamran's Antiques and Oriental Rugs in 1991, when he was 21. He didn't do too well in his first year, so he closed that store when he got the opportunity to sell Oriental rugs at what was then known as M. Newfield and Sons, a furniture store in Lodi that was eventually sold to Thornton House, also on School Street.

Baghestanian sold Oriental rugs at Newfield's and Thornton House, although he ran his own business while taking up space at the two stores. In 1998, he opened Classic Living, located next door to Lodi Beer Co.

The store contains what appears to be restored antique furniture, but Baghestanian says it's all brand new, even if it looks old.

Baghestanian enjoys Downtown Lodi, though he admits it has its pluses and minuses. As for the area's appearance, it couldn't be better, he said. But parking has been a major issue because customers have had a difficult time finding a place to park with three major restaurants nearby.

Reader Feedback

Remeber when.... wrote on Aug 13, 2007 11:05 PM:

" Woolworths had the "pet department" in the back door by the ally? Going to town with Mama was always fun, because between Pennys and Woolworths, you could play with the toys, run up and down the stairs (and avoid the clerks), look over the balcony, check out the pets again at Woolworhts and make it back to the chairs upstairs by the dressing room before Ma got all that polyester blend tried on over her bouffant hairdo! "

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AN wrote on Aug 13, 2007 1:32 PM:

" People need to walk more. Downtown is pretty small and parking is always available in the transit bldg.It's not like they are walking miles and miles. I'll miss your nice window displays. Some type of living and artists studios would be cool there. "

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ex -Lodian wrote on Aug 13, 2007 10:39 AM:

" I use to play hide and seek between the clothes racks when it was JC Pennys. Then I would help disabled veteran who lost his legs sell his pencils right in front of the building. I would love to see Borders or Barnes & Noble take over the space. They could have the childrens section in the basement and have a cafe on the mezzanine. Then maybe parents can hang out with their children in stead of at the theater by themselves or have a place to wait while their children see a movie. "

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Responsibility wrote on Aug 11, 2007 5:51 PM:

" Isn't someone going to blame this on Walmart? They're responsible for global warming aren't they and every other ill in this country. "

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sorry to see you go wrote on Aug 11, 2007 3:30 PM:

" sorry to see you go. "

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remember when wrote on Aug 11, 2007 7:24 AM:

" BRING J.C. BACK TO DOWNTOWN !!!!!!! "

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Baby Boomer #2 wrote on Aug 10, 2007 11:18 AM:

" The last comment made me laugh. Didn't Penny's use a vacuum tube that sucked up a canister to send orders from the cash registers to the office? They were the only store that carried "husky" Cords for a 12 yr old boy with meat on his bones! "

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Baby Boomer wrote on Aug 10, 2007 7:27 AM:

" I wish he put the lunch counter from the old Woolworths in so I could go in once again for a hot dog and a soda and sit in the red barstool and SPIN! (then put the toy department back in the basement where it used to be!) "

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