Copyright Norfolk Virginian-Pilot
In its heyday, the area now known as the Neon District in the downtown section of Norfolk had a variety of furniture stores. Almost all are gone, and on Dec. 31, Virginia Furniture Co. will join the list. After 86 years, the family-owned and -operated store is holding a going-out-of-business sale. First cousins Jeff and David Laibstain, second-generation owners and ages 64 and 69, respectively, have both decided it’s time to retire. “We’ve been working pretty much six days a week for 40 years,” David Laibstain said. “And you know, Sunday goes by pretty quickly.” The men took over the business from their fathers, Leonard and Harry Laibstain, who started the business together as teenagers in 1939. Times were tough back in the 1930s and early 1940s and they were in pursuit of a good living. After the business got going, Leonard took a few business-related college courses. Harry, a talented trumpet player, also brought in money by playing alongside other swing era players. The Laibstain brothers opened the business in their home in the Berkley section before they settled on their first brick-and-mortar location on Church Street. Rent was $25 per month. In 1964, they relocated the business nearby to the old Downtown Plaza on St. Paul’s Boulevard. And in 2005, Virginia Furniture Co. made its final move to the corner of Granby Street and Olney Road. All the moves were within a one-mile radius as the store gradually increased its footprint. From the start, the brothers carpooled to and from the store together six days a week. They worked side-by-side and ate lunch in the store’s dinette area. Leonard Laibstain, Jeff’s father, worked in the business for 80 years. The pandemic forced his retirement, and he died in 2023 at 98. The recliner chair where he enjoyed many midday naps still has a prominent place in the store. Harry Laibstain, David’s father, worked until he was 91. He died in 2012 from pancreatic cancer. “I think they were the closest brothers probably on the planet,” David Laibstain said. “And they made a hell of a team.” Many say the same about Jeff and David Laibstain. Often mistaken for brothers, the two boast that they, like their fathers, never had an argument. They joined the family business in 1986 and, after devoting their time, gained respect from the community for their honesty and solid enterprise. Together they juggled and divvied up the many responsibilities of small business ownership: advertising, housekeeping, merchandising, ordering, showcasing, selling, answering phones and bookkeeping. Jody Laibstain, David’s wife, had her own career but remained supportive, she said. Jeff’s wife, Bonnie, came on board during the pandemic to help. She modernized the formerly handwritten, old-fashioned “by the book” system, bringing the majority of the financials online. The in-house financing established by the patriarchs remained a constant. Competition with big-box stores wasn’t really an issue as the Laibstains said they were always extremely consumer-centric. “We tried to kill them with kindness,” David Laibstain said. “And if they had a service call, we would take them very very seriously.” Every customer received a free gift — or tchotchke as they liked to call it — with a purchase. Armed with their own trucks and in-house delivery drivers, Virginia Furniture Co. offered free delivery and free setup — plus sometimes even same-day delivery — establishing it as an anomaly in an ever-changing retail landscape. “We also found really nice people to work for us and we kept them forever,” David Laibstain said of their truck drivers, warehouse and office workers. Richard Miles worked alongside all four men for 40 years, until he, too, retired in 2017. The younger Laibstains consider him their mentor. David Laibstain recalled generations of the same families coming to the store over the years. Kerri Estrella of Virginia Beach remains grateful to the Laibstains for helping her get her footing when she relocated from New Jersey eight years ago with just mattresses for her children and herself. “I was able to furnish our apartment because we didn’t have anything and I’ve continued to go back to them for every piece of furniture,” Estrella said. “I’m one of many Hampton Roads residents who is sad to see them go.” Katherine Williams of Norfolk has been a customer for 40 years and calls them the last of a breed. “They were truly a friend to the working man,” she said. Now with the final days of the business counting down, the Laibstains are preparing for their retirement. David Laibstain began refinishing vintage furniture a few years ago and plans to continue with that pastime. The cousins also plan to make time for other activities such as travel, family, reading, and playing golf. But furniture — and the business and customers that provided their livelihoods — will never be too far from their minds.
