Store Info

Our History

East River Furniture’s roots reach deep into the Freeman community starting with Wipf Brothers Hardware Store in the early 1900s. Dave Wipf started a second Wipf Brothers hardware store in Menno in 1928. The 1940s brought change to the store with Dave Wipf buying out the rest of the Wipf Brothers in 1941, selling the hardware line and building on Menno’s Fifth Street in 1947. The building on Fifth Street still stands in downtown Menno. Eight years later in 1955, Dave’s son-in-law Harry Lee Smidt bought the business to bring furniture and flooring to the existing appliance line up. This change introduced the well-known name of Smidt Furniture. Harry returned to the store’s roots in Freeman during 1965 when he opened a small store on Main Street that also housed a barber shop. Norm’s Thrifty White Pharmacy currently stands in this location.

Harry’s sons, Kevin and Mike Smidt, took over the business in 1976. Several years later they closed the Freeman store – but not with permanent intentions of doing so. The “right building” opened up in 1992 at 700 East Sixth Street in Freeman — the former address of Pine Hill Printery. Just under two years later in 1994, the Freeman location suffered serious fire damage. After a fire sale in July, they started re-building on land purchased years earlier by Harry Lee Smidt. Smidt Furniture operated out of the Menno store during the building process and re-opened in Freeman in May of 1995. That location at 911 East Sixth Street is the current home of East River Furniture. A warehouse was added to the south side of the store in 2000 to hold extra inventory, but soon became the sole warehouse after a fire damaged much of the inventory at the Menno location. In 2006, Kevin and Mike moved the business entirely to Freeman.

After over 40 years in business, Kevin and Mike sold the business to fellow small business owners and neighbors, Tim and Becky Wiese in January 2020. The Wieses renamed Smidt Furniture to East River Furniture and continue to make upgrades to the store and product lineup. In addition to traditional offerings, the Wiese family added pieces from their 81 Metal Art business to create more offerings and showcase the products that gave them their start. In a great coincidence, 81 Metal Art also moved their shipping department into a warehouse at 700 East Sixth Street in Freeman — the former location of Smidt Furniture!

Return Policy

UPHOLSTERY RETURNS OR EXCHANGES Upholstered items (sofas, recliners, loveseats, chairs, etc) may be returned or exchanged
within seven days of receipt of merchandise. Items must be free of soil, stains, pet hair, odor, tears, and burns. All upholstered merchandise is subject to inspection prior to return or exchange.

REFUNDS may only be made if merchandise is in “as-new” condition. ” AS-IS”, ” Closeout”, & “Used” items are final sale and not eligible for returns or exchange unless otherwise noted.

BEDDING RETURNS OR EXCHANGES Mattresses, foundations, and bedding are eligible for return or exchange only if the original packaging is intact, law tags are attached, and merchandise is unused. Items with a manufacturer return/exchange policy are subject to the criteria outlined by the manufacturer.

GENERAL RETURNS OR EXCHANGES Unupholstered items (case goods, decor, rugs, etc) are eligible for return within 14 days of receipt of merchandise. Merchandise must be in “like new” condition.

CARD REFUNDS All returns that originated from debit or credit card purchases are subject to a 7% transaction fee on issued refunds.

SPECIAL ORDERS may or may not be eligible for return. East River Furniture reserves the right to assess up to a 25% restocking fee if return of special order product is possible.

Merchandise originally picked up by customers being returned or exchanged are not eligible for future pick up/delivery services without assessing fees.

Returns or exchanges due to defect or damage prior to receipt – East River Furniture will restore any defect apparent with your purchase or gladly correct your dissatisfaction through an exchange of product (if possible), reselection of a different product, or refund within 7 days of receipt when the item is returned in “like-new” condition.