Local furniture store doing business for 80 years

This year marks the 80th anniversary of Runge Furniture, located at 1319 N. Fourth St. in Coeur d'Alene. 

"It's been here since before I was born," said current owner Jeff Runge. "So it's worked out really well for the family." 

Jeff's great-grandfather and grandfather had a used furniture store in Loop City, Neb., from 1930 to 1937. In 1946, his grandparents moved west, headed for Seattle, but stopped in Coeur d'Alene along the way. 

"They decided that this is where they wanted to be and opened Runge Furniture," Jeff said. "Their first location of the store was in the MacArthur Building on Second and Indiana. In 1950, it moved to 12th and Sherman, and then to its current location in 1980." 

Jeff said his father and uncle worked at the store while they were growing up. 

"It was officially transferred to them in 1980," Jeff said. "My uncle retired, and my dad ran it for several years, and now I am running it." 

Runge Furniture has a wide variety of inventory. 

"We sell predominantly living room furniture — upholstered stationary and reclining furniture and recliners," Jeff said. "We also carry dining room sets, bedroom sets, mattresses and Speed Queen appliances as well." 

The dining room sets are made from different kinds of wood. 

"What we have on the floor right now is hickory, oak, cherry and maple," Jeff said. "We try to carry solid wood furniture, but we don't always succeed. Sometimes there are veneers, but we predominantly try to carry dining room sets in solid wood." 

Jeff said they prioritize buying domestically made products. 

"Especially upholstered furniture," he said. "We carry Flexsteel, Stanton and Rowe. But we also carry Scandinavian furniture — Stressless and Fjord — which are Norwegian companies that make higher-end leather and reclining furniture. 

Jeff said he buys the Norwegian furniture from an importer. 

"We do, but we sell it off the floor if someone wants immediate delivery," he said. "If they can wait, we can have it custom made. You can select your fabric, your configuration, and the size. In a lot of cases, you can select the wood finish as well." 

Some of his immediate family who are or have worked for him include his wife, Shauna; his oldest daughter, Emily; and his brother, John. 

"Shauna helps with our advertising, Emily handles our social media advertising, and John takes care of building maintenance," Jeff said. "Our other two kids are Abby, who is a veterinarian and Ethan, who works at JST Manufacturing in Boise." 

Jeff doesn't envision a family member he can one day pass the business on to. 

"I would love to keep it in the family, but at least right now my kids are doing pretty darn well on their own," Jeff said. "So, we'll have to wait and see what their plans are. It would be nice to have a fourth-generation ownership of the business." 

When asked how he'd describe his business, Jeff replied: 

"It's about as local as you can get — we've all been born and raised here — and we really try to make friends with the people that we're helping with furniture," Jeff said. "We want everyone to be happy with their purchase. We have a full-time service man, so it's not like once you buy it, you're out of luck. We're here for you before and after the sale." 

Jeff acknowledges that his success in furniture stems from the people around him. 

"We have a wonderful team. We have very little turnover here — people who have worked here for 15 years — Treece Bashaw — our office manager has been with us for 29 years," Jeff said. "That kind of longevity is one of the things that makes us unique in that we have employees that have been here for years and years because it is a fun place to work and they make customers feel comfortable when they come into the store." 

    Runge Furniture owner Jeff Runge (center), with Office Manager Treece Bashaw (left) and Office Administrator Kim Brandon (right).
  

    Early owners, family members and employees of Runge Furniture. From left are Jim Runge, Bill Richards, Floyd Runge and John Runge.
  

    Some of the furniture on display in Runge Furniture's 10,000-square-foot showroom.
  

    Dozens of recliners for sale at Runge Furniture.
  

Now the TidBits   

New and Upcoming  

• Crayon Box Child Care is now open at 245 W. Bosanko Ave. in Coeur d'Alene.

• Jersey Mike's, 8289 N. Highway 41 in Post Falls, is now open. 

• Mor Furniture for Less, located in the Prairie Shopping Center in Hayden, is open. 

• The Flying Pickle, a state-of-the-art pickleball facility, is now open at The Pointe in Post Falls on 140 N. Beck Road.   

• Golden Rule Brake at 3637 N. Government Way is open for business. 

• The Crescent Moon Bakery at 315 E. Walnut in Coeur d'Alene is now open. 

• Jefe's Tacos and Tequila at 761 N. Idaho St. in Post Falls is now open.   

• Dragon Fly Support Services, a mental health and substance use counseling facility, is now open at 601 E. Seltice Way in Post Falls.   

• Les Schwab Tire Center is now open at 1656 N. Nicholson Center in Post Falls. 

• Sierra Ranch Chili in the Silver Lake Mall is now open. 

Ongoing Projects  

• Chase Bank is under development next to Verizon and Starbucks off Prairie Avenue and U.S. 95 in Hayden.

• The Selkirk Center broke ground for a new Health Care and mixed-use campus at Lancaster Road and Highway 41 in Rathdrum.

• ATC Manufacturing Inc. in Post Falls has begun a project to nearly double its 67,000-square-foot headquarters.

• Super 1 Foods broke ground on a new location at Highway 41 and Prairie Avenue in Post Falls.     

• A new commercial building is planned for the Riverstone development at 1570 W. Tilford Lane and will bring at least one new dining option to the area. The 7,500-square-foot mixed-use building is targeted for completion this summer.     

• The 33-unit, mixed-use "Nonna" building across from Post Falls City Hall on Spokane Street is anticipated to be completed by October of 2026.  

• A five-story, 173-room Hilton Dual Brand Hotel is planned for a 2.71-acre parcel of land off Lee Court and Appleway Avenue in Coeur d'Alene. The project's start and completion dates are not yet determined. 

Post Falls Business Licenses Filed 

• Legendary Paw Spa, LLC 

• A Touch of the Cascades Landscaping, LLC 

• Inland Motors 

• Two Left Feet, LLC 

• Nightshade Alchemy, LLC 

• • •  

Have a tip on happenings in the local business world? Contact Bob at [email protected].