ALTON - Alton Mayor Brant Walker confirmed Rothman Furniture & Mattress will close its location in Alton, along with another in O’Fallon, IL., and other outlets in Missouri.
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He said he learned of the Rothman corporate announcement on Monday and he said he believes the Alton location was doing fine, but others in the company apparently were not in the same status.
“Honestly, we went on a business retention visit there a couple years ago and they said the Rothman store was doing fine,” he said. “Unfortunately, Alton is catching the brunt of these things. The Christian bookstore that closed was doing well and was the only one profitable in their whole chain and closed.
“I feel badly for the employees of Rothman who will lose their jobs. “There is a transformation going on in how people consume now and this is another example.”
Walker emphasized overall retail sales have been strong the past two years, topping $500 million overall and he said the Alton economy is doing well. He said with the new Alton Multi-Modal Station, people should expect to see significant development in the 30 acres around that area. Rothman is not far down the road from the train station and the building is in a prime location, so he said it should not be difficult to fill the area.
The company has been in business in Alton since the mid-1990s.
Mayor Walker said Rothman owns the building and he has not been notified when the business will officially close or what the plans for the future will be, but he knows it will be developed for an alternative business.
