Cabinet retailer carries torch as last business in Douglas
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By JOE DUGGAN / Lincoln Journal Star
DOUGLAS — It’s funny what a bit of horse trading can get you into.
In 1976, Dan DeVries offered half the asking price for a storeroom full of discontinued cabinets at an Auburn cabinet company.
“Sold!”
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Hours: 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday and 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday.
Phone: (402)799-3385
And that’s how R.F.D. Sales in Douglas got its start.
It took 10 semi loads to get those cabinets to Douglas. DeVries, the local postmaster at the time, opened a store front and rented a building from the village to keep his excess inventory. Then he advertised cabinets at $10 each.
Now, 32 years later, the business is still growing strong, even though the business climate in Douglas is not. RFD Sales is the only retail business currently operating in this village of 227.
From the beginning, the store was a family business. DeVries used the initials of his sons’ first names — Richard, Frank and Don — to name the store. His wife, Carolyn, ran the books and his daughter, Pat Hinrichsen, worked in sales.
He also entered a partnership with a friend, Kenny Moller, who died in 1988.
The business developed a reputation for selling solidly built, affordable cabinets made in Nebraska. It still works with the Auburn company, although that company’s ownership has changed a couple of times.
In addition to affordable models, R.F.D. Sales now carries more expensive lines of cabinets. It also offers kitchen design services and limited custom work, such as drawer dovetailing, said Henrichsen, who recently took over the management of the business from her parents.
“We try to keep things reasonably priced,” she said.
The business also has expanded its products to offer counters and bathroom vanities.
The store employs five people full-time and two part-time. It’s open Monday through Saturday.
“My dad always says, ‘I can’t stand losing money seven days a week,’ ” Henrichsen said.
The family fretted a little as the national home improvement chains opened stores in southeast Lincoln. But in February, the store set a monthly sales record, Henrichsen said.
Over the years, they never thought seriously about moving to Lincoln. But they sure wish they sold a cabinet for every time someone asked them why they didn’t move to the city.
Reach Joe Duggan at 473-7239 or jduggan@journalstar.com.
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