When Mr. Bobby Denning began as a television and radio repairman in 1951, he never envisioned that he would be getting into the furniture business, but 56 years in the future, BobbyDenningFurniture is one of the largest retail furniture dealers in the Southeastern region of North Carolina, and the largest distributor of La-Z-boy recliners east of I-95.
It all began in a 10'x10' room at his Route 3, Mt. Olive home, where he worked on radios and televisions. Several years later he found himself getting into the living rooms, dining rooms and bedroom furniture business. Only a few years later, he began dealing with kitchen appliances as well. With this expansion in sales came the need for more space. Denning recalls,"It was kind of an annual event. Each year we would knock out a wall and double the size of our available space." Finally it came to the point that Denning felt he could open a branch location, which he did in 1970 in Mount Olive North Carolina.
When Bobby Denning Furniture moved to its present location on Breazeale Avenue, There was three different businesses in the same building. He eventually bought the other two parts of the building, because of his need for more space, But Denning's expansion didn't stop there, he later doubled his size of that building to accomodate his growing inventory. In the mid-seventies, Denning decided to close his doors on the business located at his home, and dedicate all of his time to the store in Mt. Olive. He is an authorized dealer for many name brand merchandise including Whirlpool, Ashley, La-Z-boy, Sony and many others. He offers service and delivery for everything he sells. The growth of Denning's business over the years has been a driving force in keeping hime going. Born with muscular dystrophy, he has been restricted to a wheel chair his entire life, but Denning sees his business as a way of survival. He said, "at times it gets tough, but without it (the buisness) I probably wouldn't be here today." Denning added a special thanks to all of his customers from the past and present. They have been very supportive of me throught the years, and it has meant a lot of good customers and good friends to me.
( Article achieved thanks to Newton Grove Circle News July 26, 1989 and Mrs. Denning)
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