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Nicholas and Taylor Urban. | DBT PHOTO BY LUIGI CIUFFETELLII[/caption]
Founded: 1990
Generations: Two
Employees: 26
NEW CASTLE – For 31 years, Urban Furniture Outlet has offered customers great service and affordable prices on furniture and mattresses.
That was the foundation set by first-generation Polish immigrant Richard Urban who founded the company as Contract Liquidators.
“His model was always the lowest price upfront, and our warehouse and showroom were all-in-one. You could literally pick out what you wanted, and we would pull it from upstairs and load it in your vehicle,” recalled Taylor Urban, Richard’s daughter-in-law.
His son, Nicholas, grew up in the family business and took over following his father’s passing in 2008. Together with his wife, Taylor, and sister, Diane, they renamed the business in honor of the late patriarch and set about preparing the business for the modern age, investing in technology, e-commerce and marketing. Despite the state-imposed closures during the early pandemic, Urban Furniture moved to assist customers by phone and internet – and grew year-over-year sales at both the New Castle and Dover stores despite the challenges.
Along with that success, Urban Furniture has found ways to give back, serving as a drop-off location for the Food Bank of Delaware for many years.
In early 2021, the family faced another challenge when Taylor was diagnosed with breast cancer. She underwent surgery and treatment, and today is doing well, but the experience influenced her to get involved with the Delaware Breast Cancer Coalition, which funds mammograms for low-income women and supports those who are diagnosed.
Taylor became trained as a peer mentor through the DBCC and helps to bring awareness of the group’s resources to populations around the state. She noted that many women have put off routine mammograms during the pandemic, simply don’t know about the risk or don’t have the money for screenings, but the cost of waiting could be dire.
“It's something that if they catch it early, it's very treatable and it's like a 98% survival rate. But if you wait a year or two or three, you could be stage four and you have a lot fewer options,” she said.
