By Mark Scott
Buffalo, NY – Kittinger Furniture is opening its first company-owned and operated retail showroom.
The Kittinger Gallery is located on Walden Avenue, near Transit Road, in Cheektowaga. It employs three people and is the first retail venture in the furniture company's storied history.
Kittinger is known for making furniture for the White House. Company president Raymond Bialkowski says the new store will include a special Oval Office exhibit.
"We have a large picture of the cabinet room table that we made in 1970 for then- President Nixon," Bialkowski said. "We also have a replica of the desk the president sits at, which was originally made of wood from a sunken ship that the English had donated to the United States many years ago."
Kittinger Furniture was established in 1866. But in the mid-1990s, following a series of ownership changes, the company went out of business. That is, until Bialkowski and a group of former employees resurrected the Kittinger name and began making furniture once again at the Tri-Main Center in Buffalo.
"There's a possibility we're going to grow 100 percent this year. Right now, we've experienced 50 percent growth over last year," Bialkowski said. "It's very exciting for us. We've added a lot of staff. It's great for the area. We have brought in a number of craftsmen who have been laid off from other companies."
Kittinger's currently employs 41 people.