Art vanelslander biography
Art vanelslander biography
Founder of Art Van Furniture, Art Van Elslander, dies at 87...
Art Van Furniture
Defunct American furniture retailer
Art Van Furniture Inc. was an American furniture retail store chain, with stores across the Midwestern United States.
Founded in 1959, the company was headquartered in Warren, Michigan, and claimed to be the largest furniture retailer in the Midwest at its peak.[1] In 2020, the company filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its stores.[2]
History
Archie "Art" Van Elslander founded Art Van in 1959, opening his first store in a 4,000 square-foot space at 10 Mile Road and Gratiot Avenue in East Detroit.[3] He expanded to three stores in that same year, and a fourth store opened in 1960.
His first employee was not hired until this time.[4] Art Vans Furniture, as it was then known, opened with mostly modern and Danish-style furniture.[5]
By 1963, Van Elslander owned seven stores and had taken on some partners, including his brother, Bob Van Elslander, Don Fox and Bob McEac