A Madisonville-based furniture store is opening a Baton Rouge location in the Northside Motor Exchange building, owned by a local family who renovated the historic 8,600-square-foot property two years ago to host arts-oriented tenants and events.
Rustic House Furniture will hold a grand opening at 655 Scenic Hwy. in Downtown East on Saturday, April 7. The shop, which has locations in Madisonville and Covington, will be open on weekends only. Owner Kevin Lazaroe says most of his furniture is made of reclaimed teak and mango wood, indigenous to India. Lazaroe has been looking to expand his business and says the Northside Motor Exchange building is exactly what he’s looking for.
“The building is beautiful,” Lazaroe says. “I’ve been searching for a building that fits our furniture. With the old beams and walls, it’s a perfect fit for us.”
Lazaroe is leasing the entire main building, which includes 2,000 square feet of showroom space and a 6,600-square-foot warehouse. The showroom was formerly home to Artvark Ltd., an arts and interiors business owned by Claire Major.
Major’s husband, Rich, and son, Alex, own the Northside Motor Exchange building, and the family spent two years and more than $100,000 renovating the property. Rich Major, co-founder of Providence engineering firm, has invested in several properties in the Downtown East neighborhood over the past decade, including the headquarters of Providence at 1201 Main St.
Claire Major opened Artvark Ltd. at Northside Motor Exchange in early 2016, hoping it would be the first of several arts-oriented tenants to occupy the building. But soon after, the Majors were bombarded with calls from event planners to use the warehouse for parties and events. The family, however, was unable to secure a permit from the state fire marshal to open the building to large gatherings. Instead, the Majors put the entire building—including the warehouse and showroom—up for lease in November 2016.
Now that they’ve found a tenant, Claire Major says she’s moving Artvark Ltd. out of the building because she has plans to downsize her business.
Rustic House Furniture, which opened in Madisonville in 2015, has seen business grow by 200% at its Madisonville location, Lazaroe says. After opening the Baton Rouge store, he plans to continue expanding his furniture business throughout south Louisiana.
