‘Going out of business’
sign finally rings true

A bankruptcy judge refuses to let
Thomasville Furniture Gallery
continue operating

By Russ Lynch
Star-Bulletin

Thomasville Furniture Gallery, a store that for months had promoted its "going out of business" sale, is being forced to do just that.

A bankruptcy court judge has rejected its plan for a Chapter 11, or reorganization, bankruptcy and shifted the case to a Chapter 7, or liquidation, filing.

Jeffrey Brunton, attorney for the state Office of Consumer Protection, said he had objected to the store's running a months-long "going out of business" sale without going out of business.

"When they made good on their claim and went into liquidation we closed the file," Brunton said. "I am not aware of any consumer harm."

Brunton said his concerns were one of a number of problems with the reorganization plan and Judge Lloyd King decided not to let it proceed. The store's inventory will be auctioned off at 10 a.m. May 31 at the store on Kamehameha Highway near Middle Street, said auctioneer Marty McClain of McClain Auctions.

The store, which brought a middle- to high-end line of furniture to fill what its owners believed was an unfilled market niche, opened in late August 1995.

Owner Frank Yoakum, a Kailua resident, said at the time he and his partners believed Hawaii needed more furniture stores and new, classier furniture products. Neither Yoakum nor his attorney could be reached yesterday.

The business operated as a local business authorized to sell the nationally distributed Thomasville line, rather than as a Thomasville franchise.

Nine months later, at the end of last May, the company sought bankruptcy protection.

That was a Chapter 11 reorganization filing, intended to let Yoakum and his partners, Irving Tam, vice president, and Kensaku Yama-Cho of Japan, keep the store open and reorganize it.

The company said it had fallen victim to a slumping economy where people didn't feel financially comfortable buying the more expensive furniture.

The company, Gallery Furniture Inc. doing business as Thomasville Furniture Gallery, attempted to shift to a less expensive range of furniture but in the end did not object when Judge King earlier this month rejected a reorganization plan and the case shifted to Chapter 7 status.

The original bankruptcy filing said the company had assets of $746,000 and liabilities of $730,000. Mary Lou Woo has been appointed trustee.