Futons and Beyond Sells a Good Night's Sleep

By Sarah Doss

Castro residents looking for a local store to provide all the goods for a restful night’s sleep need not look beyond their own the neighborhood. Futons and Beyond (F.A.B.), a new furniture company, offers an eclectic mix of futons, frames, night tables, dressers and any other accessory that can fit into a bedroom.

Futons and Beyond has been open for almost a year and is the only store of its kind in the Castro with a selection of both futons and regular beds. The sales representatives take pride in a “no-pressure” approach to customers, providing education of the product line to ensure an improved quality of sleep.

The owner of F.A.B, Steve Reignier, bought the store from a previous employer with aspirations of turning the business into a place that would offer a wide variety of contemporary merchandise.
“We are trying to reinvent the same store using a similar product, but with a whole new image,” Reignier said.

Because the Castro is such a diverse neighborhood, F.A.B gets a broad range of clientele, but Reignier is still looking to expand.

“We carry futons, but college life is different these days so we don’t get a lot of students,” he said.
Reignier also wants more men to understand the art of a good night’s sleep.

“Young guys don’t realize that a switch to a higher thread count can change a lot,” he said.
The store’s biggest marketing goal is to expand and perfect their current Web site. Store manager Antonio Lezama has been constructing the site to allow customers to view all products in the catalog online and order them for delivery.

“It’s not ready yet, but it’s going to be huge,” said Reignier. “The customer will be able to see all of the merchandise online that we are unable to fit in the store.”

While F.A.B. is small, it still possesses a spacious, feng shui-like feel. Each display is creatively organized by Lezama and the product line has an overall theme of “international flavor.”

“We have a large mix of customers that we like to cater to,” Reignier said.
Most of F.A.B’s vendors are local, coming from Milipitas, Oakland, Millbrae and the City.

“It keeps us community based, which is great,” Reignier said.

The only non-local vendors are Tempurpedic, which only comes from Kentucky, and Natura’s organic mattresses from Oregon.

Not all of the merchandise in the store is heavy furniture that requires a moving van to take out. Targeting impulse buyers, F.A.B is launching its own brand of products like slippers and candles. The Shoji room divider screens are popular because they can be put in spaces other than the bedroom.

Lezama not only proves his creative talent with store merchandising, but also with a brush and canvas. Many of his paintings are on display in the store and up for sale. Additionally, F.A.B also sells photographs by Castro resident Gary Castille.

Futons and Beyond does its share of philanthropy by donating old fabric swatches to local schools.
“We always want to have a bigger hand in helping out with the community,” Reignier said. The business is also participating in the Castro merchants’ sidewalk sale May 5 and donating part of the proceeds to charity.

With a year of customer service behind them, Futons and Beyond plans to stay around much longer and continue to offer “F.A.B”ulous products to Castro residents.
For the sales representatives at F.A.B, the best part of the job comes from meeting the diverse mixture of customers.

“I like the cross-section of people that come here,” Lezama said.

“It’s an international city. What’s not to love about it?” said Reignier.

Futons and Beyond is located at 2057 Market St. near Church. 252-5100.
futonsandbeyond.com.

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