Between Muench and Peffer streets in Midtown stands an old one-story building with a modest sign: 3rd Street Used Furniture.
Inside, behind a counter with some toys and plenty of candy, is 28-year-old owner Phil Wagner. He cheerfully greets customers, most of whom are also his neighbors, who like to stop in – when not buying furniture – for a soda and some conversation.
“I’d say at least 80 percent of our sales are very local, probably from Forester to Division, and from Front to 7th street,” Wagner said. “Every now and then I’ll get up on the Hill, but most of it is Uptown and Midtown.”
Wagner grew up in the furniture business. His mother, Diane Werner, is an antique dealer whose Country Collectibles is in Dillsburg. His stepfather, Don Stoner, had 3rd Street Used Furniture for 10 years before deciding to get out of the business.
Stoner sold the building, originally used as a machine shop, to WCI Partners, but two years later, with a hankering to have his own furniture business, Wagner re-opened the store, renting the building from WCI.
“With the economy, people aren’t buying new furniture,” he said. For his customers, he said, it’s “function over style.”
Dressed in a T-shirt and shorts, Wagner is easy-going and casual as he deals with a couple of customers looking for mattresses. He buys his stock at estate sales, always with an eye out for unique but practical pieces, and prices them affordably.
“I appreciate antiques, but I wanted to sell stuff that I would want to use in my house,” Wagner said. “I just try to price to sell.”
Stoner said of his stepson’s furniture business acumen: “Does a great job of it, better than me.”
Furniture in his two spacious showrooms, the walls decorated with art and photography also for sale, look solid and practical. But there are special pieces such as a custom-made cherry china cabinet that looks like a steal at $249.
Many of his customers are just looking for starter furniture, he said. He works with Keystone Human Services that brings clients by who have modest budgets in which to furnish their new apartments.
Wagner has some choice furniture – a brown, retro ‘50s vinyl industrial sofa, for instance – for customer seeking something special. Neil Choquette, of Neil Choquette Fine Upholstery on 2nd Street, said he has bought a few quality pieces from Wagner.
“He really provides a niche for providing neighbors with affordable furniture,” Choquette said.
For neighbors, the store is a place to socialize, visit with friends, sort of like the old country store where people sat or stood around the pot belly stove.
“It’s good to be friends with everyone,” Wagner said. “I’ve been in every house on this street and the next one over … you get to know people and they’ll stop in and say, ‘I like that dresser you got. I’m not ready to buy anything, but I just wanted to say that.”
Wagner smiled. “That part is the fun of it.”
3rd Street Used Furniture, 1918 N. 3rd St., Harrisburg, Mon. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tues. 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., closed Sunday. 717-920-9800 or threesuf@gmail.com
