On a chilly sunny day at Soaring Ranch in Truckee, sisters Heidi and Gretchen Breuner show up emitting a warm, friendly and welcoming demeanor, excited to tell their story about the unseen events that caused them to reopen their 148-year-old family business.
Originally started in 1856, Heidi and Gretchen’s great, great-grandfather John Breuner moved to California during the Gold Rush yet instead of going after the precious shiny metal itself he ended up finding a niche by making cradles for gold panning instead. The idea soon turned into a full-fledged furniture business where he made heirloom, hand-carved walnut dressers, desks and more, eventually expanding Breuners to include brick and mortar stores from Sacramento and San Francisco all the way to the East Coast.
Over the years John’s sons, grandsons and great-grandsons kept Breuners alive for the next century and a half before closing its doors in 2003.
“Our grandfather (Wallace) and his sons ran that store based on excellent customer service and how they treated their staff,” Gretchen says.
“He always said that every person there was the reason for their success,” Heidi adds.
Fast forward to today, and Heidi and Gretchen live in Reno next door to each other and had the idea last fall to give their mom a coffee table in the shape of Lake Tahoe as a surprise. Their grandfather Wallace and his sons built five cabins on the West Shore of Tahoe in the 1940s that are still owned by the family, so the sisters thought that the table would make a memorable and unique gift. However, they never put too much thought into it since Heidi’s business, Swap Ts, was taking off. The family went all in on the kids’ T-shirt patch swapping venture when Covid-19 struck, creating a domino effect that halted production. Within 48 hours, Gretchen, Heidi and Heidi’s husband, Derek, were unemployed.
That’s when they got the family tools out and started building their mom’s table. Completed in March, the sisters gave her the gift and shared a photo of it to social media. Immediately, they had nine orders for Tahoe tables come in and they revived the family furniture business.
“The quality of furniture is what we’ve always been known for, as well as our customer service,” Heidi says about the renewed interest in Breuners. Well, that and the attachment people tend to have to their family’s heirloom furniture that they grew up with.
“I always hear stories of how much a furniture piece means to their family and the way they were treated when they bought it. It brings me to tears. I’m humbled by the appreciation people have of Breuners Furniture,” Gretchen adds.
Personally, I have fond memories of being a little girl going into a Breuners Furniture store in Sacramento with my parents, taking in the smell of walnut and running my hands across the smooth, polished wood before heading over to the kids’ department. My parents loved that store.
Since they’ve relaunched the business in early 2020, they’ve heard quite a few stories from people about what Breuners means to their families. Now, the sisters work out of their garages relying on the sturdy tools that they inherited from their grandfather.
“I was routing a bench the other day with a tool that my grandpa bought in 1970 and thought, ‘He has to be looking down and smiling at us right now.’ It just oozes family,” Heidi says.
“All the tools we’re working with, you don’t get that quality of craftsmanship anymore,” Gretchen adds.
The Breuners now specialize in making live edge and hardwood tables and are in the process of implementing some ideas about how to make more sleek, functional furniture like the Hideout chair/convertible table. The Breuners also enjoy making custom pieces.
“We like to be able to offer something custom because it’s fun for us to make,” Heidi says, noting that one of their favorite recent projects was a bar top table in the shape of California lined with redwood sourced from the state.
“I find myself sitting in a chair and running my hand over a table thinking, this is really good sanding. Making furniture gives you a real appreciation of others who do it,” Gretchen says with a smile.
The sisters plan on continuing to carry on the family name making handmade quality wooden furniture that lasts for generations.
“I just hope that when we can gather again it can bring a sense of joy to gather around a Breuners table,” Gretchen says. | breunersfurniture.com
