Waltman Furniture Co. to close in Kittanning
After more than seven decades serving generations of local families, Waltman Furniture Co. will close its last remaining store in Kittanning, Armstrong County.
Owner Frank Waltman announced the decision, marking the end of a family-run business that began with his father and became a fixture in the region.
Waltman, who described himself as “a pretty low-key guy,” said the choice to close was not driven by economic hardship, but rather the desire the enjoy the finer side of life, like working on his golf swing and spending time with the people who matter most in his life.
"I'm sort of kidding there,“ Waltman said with a laugh about his golf swing. ”I’m not fully sure what the future holds for us.
He said his wife has already retired, and the couple has grandchildren that he hopes to see more often.
“Mostly we won't change too much. I'm not moving to Florida or anything like that,” he said.
“Nobody knows how much time they got left,” he later continued.
Waltman Furniture plans to officially close around the end of May or early June, depending on how fast it can sell off its remaining inventory, Waltman said, with a liquidation sale that began on April 9.
“The process will take about 60 days,“ Waltman said.
Waltman Furniture first opened in 1951 by Frank’s father, Vernon Waltman, with a store in Chicora.
Frank joined the business in 1972 after finishing college, officially taking over for his father in 1982.
Then, in 2013, Waltman Furniture expanded with the purchase of the Kittanning store, 13584 State Route 422, to later open it in 2015.
Frank’s son Ryan would eventually become involved in the business, bringing in the third generation of Waltmans to the business. One ran the Kittanning location, and the other ran the Chicora store.
Ryan died in July of 2022, which lead to the decision to close down the Chicora store and consolidate it with the Kittanning location in 2023, Frank said.
“I just couldn’t run both myself,” Frank said. “When Ryan passed, that made a difference.”
Frank got to spend 10 years working with his father, who taught him everything he needed to know in order to maintain and grow the business.
"Business wise, he was pretty innovative,“ Frank said of his father. ”We always had a lot of inventory. That was our thing. Great pricing, and that is how we did it. Those are the things, I tended to do as well.“
As Frank looks toward the future, so do some of his employees. Frank said he has been able to help find work for those employees in search of a job, while others will also go on to enjoy retirement like him.
Frank is thankful for the communities that have helped support the business over its seven decade run, and even though he doesn’t see repeat customers as often as he’d like, he still know them by name when they do come in and that is what its all about, he said.
“In the furniture business, you might only see them every five to seven years because you don’t need new furniture everyday,” Frank said. “It really boils down to those relationships.
"We certainly appreciate their loyalty to our business. We hope we have returned the favor with good service and products. They sure bought into us and accepted us."
