Greer’s Home Furnishings & Shoppes on the Square

Shoppes on the Square in Loudon, Tenn., has a great Spring Open House planned for March 16-17 and you’re invited. When this amazing shop has open house, they like to go all out with refreshments and great sales throughout the store.

Sara Chihasz, manager of Shoppes on the Square, told me all the gallery owners in their store fill their galleries up with loads of things for your home, garden, patio and porches; than fill it some more with lots of décor and accessories for every room, even your office. There’s numerous owners who custom make jewelry, décor signage, candles, florals and much more. You’ll find garden flags and metal art, quilts, lighted paintings for the porch, painted and repurposed furniture and accessories and local art.

Shoppes on the Square opened just over three years ago by Bo Carey, owner and manager of Greer’s Home Furnishings, just a couple doors up the walkway. Bo Carey is the fourth generation owner of Greer’s Home Furnishings. Bo’s Great Grandfather John G. Greer, opened Greer’s in 1890, and at that time it sold home commodities and farm implements. In 1900, his great grandfather took on a partner, his brother-in-law, James Carmichael. They built and expanded in 1914 at 604 Grove Street, where they are still located today.

In 1925, the second generation, the Greer sons, J. Barksdale and James Carmichael Greer, bought out their Uncle James (Bliz) Carmichael. Over the next 40 years, J. Barksdale led the business in major growth in furniture, appliances, and home products. In the 1950s, the third generation joined the firm. John C. Greer and his brother-in-law, Hamill B. Carey developed and continued a very successful partnership based on customer service and consumer credit options at the turn of the century. The hardware business was sold, and the main focus was dedicated to a product mix of furniture and mattresses.

Today, Bo Carey, owner of Shoppes on the Square, continues as the fourth generation owner and manager of Greer’s Home Furnishings. Bo credits much of his success to what he learned from his ancestors, and he strongly believes in three important work ethics. First, offer quality brands made in America, such as what they carry: LazyBoy, Serta, Beauty Rest by Simmons, and the Big Green Egg Grills. Second, Bo believes its important to deliver small town customer service which exceeds everything the chain and box stores can offer. Third, he believes one must use to his advantage, one’s low overhead, and guarantee prices well below the high rent competition such as stores in areas like Knoxville where prices far exceed what customers should have to pay.

Bo Carey said his Great Grandfather John Greer had a company motto, “The best way to avoid a misunderstanding is to first have a firm understanding.” Bo said that motto still holds true today, and that he and his wife Lisette and their staff still apply it to to business in Greer’s Home Furnishings.

Bo Carey had a vision three years ago how to help those who wanted to be in business for themselves, but could not afford high overhead. He opened Shoppes on the Square to help others to build a business in a reasonable space, whether they custom make or design or they just needed a small gallery shop to sell their home décor, antiques, gift items, vintage clothing, etc. It offered a number of men and women an opportunity to do something they love to do and make some extra income, without the huge overhead.

Today, many small towns are starting galleries and markets, calling them incubator stores and businesses using the same basis as Bo’s business, Shoppes on the Square. They now have approximately 50 gallery shoppes, and the owners have given very creative names to each of their galleries such as Eclectic Corner, Grace’s Place, Sisters From Another Mister, City Gypsy, Twisted Sister; Littler Traveler, The Best Years, and Simply Charming, to name a few.

The owners bring in very unique and different things weekly, such as the seats that were in the Historic Lyric Theater in Loudon. One gallery owner sells Miss Lillian’s No Wax Chock Paint; another has an unusual roll top desk with a seat that pushes into the desk when closed. There’s a copper still in one gallery shoppe; other shoppes offer unique patterns of dishes, old signage, cotton limbs for décor and olive buckets.

Greer’s Home Furnishings has beautiful LazyBoy Recliners in sofas, love seats, and reclining rockers. They have beautiful home accessories and accent tables, chests and lamps, and you’ll find amazing mattresses by Serta and Beauty Rest Mattresses by Simmons. They are one of the only stores left in the area from Sweetwater to Loudon that carry these mattresses. They also carry Big Green Egg Grills, a must buy to start that outdoor grilling.

Whether its products from Greer’s Home Furnishings or Shoppes on the Square, Bo and Lisette Carey and their staff are ready to assist you in finding something you will enjoy for years to come. They invite you to attend Spring Open House at Shoppes on the Square March 16-17, and to enjoy the Easter Egg Hunt for “Adults” the Saturday before Easter, March 31. The gallery shoppe owners will donate items from their shoppes, and they will match a number enclosed in the eggs hidden throughout Shoppes on the Square. Find the egg, match it to the gift you have won! Make Loudon and Greer’s two amazing stores your next excursion. Shoppes on the Square is open Mon-Sat 10-5; Greer’s is open Mon-Sat 10-6.

By Maxine Jones, Ocoee, Tennessee