It was in the Fall of 1999 when David Honeycutt and his father, Scott, first began discussing the possibility of opening a new furniture store specifically geared towards the needs of children and teens.

David, who co-owns the family’s current store, Woodstock Furniture, vividly remembers the conversation.

“We would have so many people come into our current store and they would always say they couldn’t find any quality children’s furniture or furniture for their teens,” said David Honeycutt. “My dad and I started having serious thoughts about opening a store that would cater to those needs that our clients kept talking about.”

The result of that discussion will be the opening of Woodstock Kids store this Fall. The new 16,000 square-foot building is currently under construction adjacent to the current Woodstock Furniture location on Highway 39.

Although the idea seemed fresh enough, David said the plan was also backed up by solid research and a new direction the furniture industry seemed to be heading in the late 1990s.

In larger markets during the 1990s furniture stores were beginning to specialize their inventories to appeal to new shoppers. One of the new trendy stores that began to grow in popularity were stores that focused on children’s furniture needs.

David said as more and more customers began reporting problems finding quality children’s furniture he knew Woodstock needed the new addition.

“It really became crystal clear that most people in Meridian were leaving town to find the kind of quality furniture they wanted for their children’s rooms and that’s when we made our decision,” said David.

While the name of the store implies that it will simply be for children, David Honeycutt stresses that business will also cater to teens and to young adults as well. David said Woodstock Kids would best be described as a store designed for “cribs to college.”

With many big box retailers carrying numerous brands of children’s furniture already, David said there may be some shoppers who wonder what the big need for other kinds of children’s furniture would be. It’s a simple matter of taste, he said.

Although many large retailers carry children’s furniture it is usually the less expensive items that are very basic in design. Many of the quality manufacturers that have been making exclusively adult furniture for the last 100 years have expanded their lines for children’s and teen furniture. These will be a staple in the new store, he said.

“Our plan is pretty simple and it is the one that our current store was founded on: We want to provide a great product at an affordable price,” he said. “If I had to compare the furniture we’re going to be selling to a car I would say it’s going to be like a Volvo — something that is affordable but also well made and designed.”

According to Honeycutt, the new store will require an additional 10 employees to operate it and will bring Woodstock Furniture Company’s number of overall employees to about 36.

If the new store is half the success that Woodstock Furniture has proven to be then David said it will be a homerun.

Woodstock Furniture was opened by Scott Honeycutt in 1978 with a vision to provide quality made commercial furniture in addition to custom made pieces in the store’s workshop.

That original dream has grown tremendously in the last 30 years with numerous expansions and remodels of the store. Now, Woodstock Furniture is known as one of the premiere furniture stores in the state.

Aside from the planned addition of Woodstock Kids the Honeycutts also are celebrating the recent addition of a new warehouse store, located on Highway 19 South in the former Southern Star Outdoors building. The Woodstock Furniture Warehouse Sale business is run by David’s younger brother, Grant.

The idea behind the warehouse store is to offer customers bottom line prices on furniture that has either been slightly damaged or that Woodstock Furniture wants to clear out of its inventory. In the few weeks the warehouse store has been opened Grant said the response has been phenomenal.

“I believe the word is out that we’ve got some of the best deals on furniture there. It seems like people are coming in and just about running out of the store because they can’t believe some of the price cuts we’ve implemented on the inventory.”

In case customers are wondering if all this new growth at Woodstock might cause the family to lose their focus, David said that is not going to happen.

“When you boil it down to its essentials all these new stores are simply an expansion of our business philosophy. We try to give customers the best deals we can and make sure that our service and commitment to them or the product will never change,” said David. “We feel like if we continue those practices Woodstock Kids will be as big as a success as our other operations.”