UPDATE: Weir's Furniture Village celebrates founder's 100th birthday

J. Ray Weir still active in company

Clint Engel -- Furniture Today, March 2, 2011

J. Ray Weir

FARMERS BRANCH, Texas — Thursday marks the 100th birthday of Weir's Furniture Village founder J. Ray Weir, and the Dallas-area retailer will honor him at its annual Appreciation Day breakfast at corporate headquarters here and later at a family dinner.

On its website, the retailer states in a recent advertisement that it's starting the celebration early with certain items priced at $100 or reduced by $100.

Born in Dallas in 1911, Weir was 37 when he purchased Mullins Furniture Store on Knox Street and reopened it March 19, 1948, as Weir Furniture.

"We had just one employee when the store opened up," J. Ray Weir recalled. "The original store was about 1,400 square feet of showroom space and 1,000 square feet of warehouse space."

As the retailer's reputation grew, it needed to expand, resulting in Weir buying up other properties on Knox Street after a fire forced many neighboring merchants to move.

In 1999, the company opened a second Dallas-area store in Plano and then a third in Southlake in December 2007.

The privately held company is now led by the third generation of the Weir family. J. Ray Weir continues to stay active reviewing financial statements and offering counsel on major business decisions, the company said.

Mark Moore, Weir's president and chairman and J. Ray Weir's grandson, said his grandfather also was instrumental in the company's most recent purchase of a nearly 430,000-square foot building in Farmers Branch this past September, which will become its new corporate office, distribution center and Weir's Furniture Outlet.

"PawPaw is excited about this new location and the opportunity it give us to better serve our customers," he said. "We are grateful to be able to celebrate his 100th birthday in the new building as a company and as a family."

The oldest of a fourth generation of 21 great-grandchildren are also now working in the business. J. Ray Weir attributes the success of the business to a strong family and a strong faith, according to a release. The company does not disclose sales figures.

Birthday greetings may be sent through a blog created in honor of Weir's centennial birthday, www.jrw100.blogspot.com. (An earlier version of this story had an incorrect link for the blog.)