WARREN, Mich. – Warren-based furniture chain Art Van Furniture announced Thursday that it is planning to close all stores, and that will have a major impact on Metro Detroit.
In Warren, you can’t sling a red hat without hitting an Art Van delivery truck. The company is omnipresent, with a mammoth flagship campus and gigantic footprint.
With the stores shutting down and a layoff date for employees as early as May 5, people who live in the community are worried about that strip of 14 Mile Road.
Warren Mayor Jim Fouts, who was notified around 8:30 a.m. Thursday that his city would be losing the 262 employees and $2.2 million in tax revenues, was angry at the news.
The Art Van presence accounts for nearly 3% of the city of Warren’s total operating budget, and while there are other behemoth headquarters in the city, including General Motors, this is still money that is taken directly out of schools, fire and police.
It’s also hard to ignore the brand-new store in Canton Township that was built two years ago, apparently while the assets of the 60-year-old family-owned company were being sold out from beneath the foundation of the company.
You can hear from Fouts and watch Paula Tutman’s full story in the video posted above.