01/09/12 - Anyone who's met Fred knows that he's traveled the world and made an incredible number of life long friends in the process. During the early 1970's, Fred was traveling in Europe where he attended a concert by a major breaking power rock band from the States named Grand Funk Railroad. "We're an American Band, I'm Your Captain, Some Kind of Wonderful and Mean Mistreater" are just some of the million-selling hits that you may recognize from this legendary group. It was during that tour stop in France that Fred first met Mark Farner (center), the driving force, lead guitar player and incredible vocalist for the group. The two hit it off. In an amazing coincidence, Fred's small store in the 70's was built on a property also housing a recording and rehearsal studio used by the break-out Detroit rock band Adrenalin, who were very close friends with Mark. The Adrenalin guys reintroduced Mark to Fred and their friendship has grown ever since. Your webmaster Craig (on the left) didn't know Fred or Mark at that time, but was in a local not-so-famous bar band that played many Grand Funk songs, so it was an absolute delight to learn later on that Mark was a close friend of Fred's. Mark recently completed a set of tour dates in Russia and stopped by our store for a visit. And, yes, even rock stars that have traveled all over the world dozens of times can still find items here (like an ornate French Provincial table lamp) that they want to buy. Find out for yourself why.
12/16/11 - We recently discovered this Certificate of Occupancy on a back wall during our ongoing remodeling efforts. When our store was founded in 1982, Fred took possession of a 200 sq. ft. property in Warren that was in extremely poor condition and unapproved. Things were so tough that the City of Warren even granted Fred four years in which to substantially improve the property. In 1986, this Certificate of Occupancy was issued by the City of Warren. This document essentially represents the official start of a successful business that has grown to over 50,000 sq. ft. in Warren and 2 other stores located in Detroit and Gladwin, MI. Fred hasn't let a day go by where he doesn't reflect on how fortunate we are to live in this country and about how hard work and commitment to one's goals can be a force for positive change in both the community and in people's lives. Happy Holidays to all of our loyal shoppers and friends. We look forward to serving you even better in 2012.
11/21/11 - If you've occasionally seen an item of interest on our website only to see it marked 'Sold' shortly thereafter, it wouldn't be surprising. One thing you may not be aware of is that many of our website shoppers will either place the item on Hold or simply purchase the item directly over the phone. When that occurs, the customer is given an opportunity to carefully inspect the item at the store and if they are dissatisfied for ANY reason, we refund any amount charged directly back onto their card no questions asked. Keep this information the back of your mind the next time you see something you're pretty sure you'd like to own.
