Melby's moves to Nucleus, for now

Melby’s Home Interiors is finding some normalcy after its building on U.S. Highway 2 burned down Sept. 27. The company moved into the former First Citizens Bank at Nucleus Avenue and 5th Street West last week at the generosity of local resident Mick Ruis. 

Steve and Debbie Melby will celebrate the store’s 50th year this week. He said they can’t have a true celebration after what happened, but maybe they’ll wait until the 51st anniversary. As far as when they will rebuild, he said it is too soon to think about, but they plan to rebuild at the same location on U.S. Highway 2.

“Our building was destroyed, and our inventory was destroyed, but our heart and our soul is still going strong, if not stronger,” Steve said. “It’s very uplifting to see how everybody’s pulled together for us.”

The fire destroyed furniture and carpet in the main building worth about $1 million, Steve guessed, but he said really doesn’t know exactly  because all of their records were destroyed. Even information about their customers was destroyed. He said that he wants his customers to call if they feel neglected. The phones were transferred to a cell phone in the days after the fire, posing a challenge for customers to get in touch with them. He was relieved when the phone system was set up last week.

They haven’t laid off any employees, but actually brought in two people to help with the extra work, Steve said. For now, the employees work the same hours during the work week and everyone is off on Saturdays. The store is open for business at its new temporary location, which they will stay in at least through the winter. The store will not be open Saturdays, and doesn’t have formal hours besides closing at 5 p.m. He said his focus is on getting set up and taking care of his existing customers. The company is staying busy with work that was scheduled before the fire. The carpet crews are booked through November. 

Ruis originally planned to let them use the former Park Mercantile across the street from the center, but the old bank was a better fit. It allowed them to move in right away and have more space to put merchandise.

Steve’s sister, Jacki Phillips of Kalispell offered to help out with the move. He is “lucky to be so well loved,” she said while waiting for the next box truck to deliver more furniture.

“Furniture is his whole life. He’s worked really hard for this,” she said. “It’s devastating for him but his attitude is good.”

Phillips worked to open boxes of new furniture that had been stored in three separate off-site storage units. The company buys furniture at market twice a year and always gets extra to keep the showroom well-stocked, Melby said. This surplus helped them recover with their furniture inventory, but most of the carpet was lost because it was stored next to the main building that burned.