Deal$ and Ashley Furniture Coming to Maplewood

(Clarification: the furniture store will be called Home Décor Furniture, which is a distributor of Ashley Furniture products.)

Springfield Avenue in Maplewood will soon be home to a Deal$ Dollar Store and an Ashley Furniture Homestore, according to the developer of the space, the former Wyman Ford car dealership.

The Deal$ will be 10,000 square feet and will be "a little higher end" than a regular dollar store, said developer Benjamin Nigri. "It will have more of a general merchandise store feeling," he said. Deal$ has over 180 stores in 48 countries, according to its website, and is owned by Dollar Tree.

The Ashley Furniture Homestore will be around 5,000 square feet, said Nigri. The company has stores across North America.

Maplewood Mayor Vic DeLuca said he met Nigri and his father, Albert, last summer and felt that they would be a good addition to Springfield Avenue.

"I provided them with assistance so that they could move the project forward," said DeLuca. "They recruited two good retail stores that will provide more shopping choices for our residents. They did a great job fixing up the building and I look forward to working with them on the other property they owns across the street." DeLuca was referring to the former Wyman used car lot.

Deal$ will open in early April, he said, and the furniture store will be open by the middle of that month.

On Wednesday afternoon, workers were busy getting the building ready for occupancy and a sign on the window said that Deal$ is currently hiring.

The building is located at 1713 Springfield Avenue at the corner of Tuscan Road.