New Furniture Store Opens On City’s North Side

Decades of furniture experience are converging on Antigo’s north side.

Lakeland Furniture & Mattress, owned by Rich and Melissa Biller, has opened its doors in the North Town Centre, offering an amazing array of items in every price range.

The Billers, together with manager Kory Walters, bring dozens and dozens of years of experience to the Antigo location and it shows in the facility’s layout and selection.

“I literally grew up in the furniture business,” Biller said. “I’ve been in it for 28 years and my wife, 23 years.”

The Billers opened their first store in Minocqua eight years ago, offering “Up North Rustic” designs and Amish-made quality products.

“I always had an inclination to open another store,” Biller said. “And this area seemed like it was a perfect location for a full-time, full-service furniture and mattress store.”

“Up North” might invoke an image of log beds and deer-antler lamps, and Lakeland Furniture does carry those products. But there’s much more as well, including name brands such as Flexsteel, Serta, Ashley, Vaughn-Bassett, Jackson, Capnappers, Best and many other brands of living room and bedroom sets, recliners, dinettes, and mattresses.

“We have a great selection,” Biller said. “We have over 60 recliners on the floor at all times, along with 40 living room sets and 30 mattress sets in every firmness and price range.”

There are also dozens and dozens of accessories.

“People like selection and we have it,” Biller said.

Biller said furniture and mattresses are available in all prices ranges, and with 18,000 square feet of space, there is almost certain to be something available for every budget.

“We’ll do everything we can to satisfy our customers’ needs,” he stressed. “We try to give the best quality at the best price. It’s not rocket science, it’s selling furniture.”

One specialty is Amish-made furniture, bringing traditional, American quality to an industry increasingly dominated by overseas manufacturers. Biller works with a specific set of Amish craftsmen, who make furniture to his exacting specifications. The results are striking, and surprisingly affordable.

“I brought in my own patterns and they were very receptive to it,” he said. “They build the pieces exclusively for me.”

Since a quiet opening earlier this month, Biller said local interest has been phenomenal.

“It has far exceeded our expectations,” he said, adding that a formal grand opening is planned sometime later this spring.

Lakeland Furniture & Mattress is open Mondays through Fridays, 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Saturdays, 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sundays, 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Delivery can be arranged and Lakeland crews will also be glad to haul away old furniture. Financing is also available.

With a lifetime in the business, Biller said he is in Antigo to stay.

“This is an ever-changing business, with new styles every day, and that’s very interesting,” he said. “And I’ve always been a people person. I like helping my customers.”

Source: Antigo Daily Journal

Rich Biller, left, and store manager Kory Walters in the showroom at Antigo’s new Lakeland Furniture & Mattress.