Long-time Bobby Denning Furniture employee Esbeida ‘Beth’ Martinez, left, is ‘like a sister’ to the actual Denning sisters: Gwen Denning, Donna Denning, and Paula Edwards. All work together, along with Edwards’ husband, David, to ensure the continued success of the business built by Bobby and Annie Sue Denning. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Thanks to a recent remodel, the Bobby Denning Furniture and Properties business has a fresh, modern storefront, with two-tone stucco, complementary stonework, metal slat awnings, and bold, red lettering. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Annie Sue Denning’s much-loved rocking chair remains in the Bobby Denning Furniture Superstore, a business she helped build alongside her husband, Bobby Denning. She passed away suddenly, in 2023, but her presence is still felt in the store. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
A painted portrait and various photographs pay tribute to the man who built Bobby Denning Superstore from the ground up. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
The Bobby Denning Furniture Superstore occupies 70,000 square feet of an 80,000-square-foot building owned by the company at 1126 N. Breazeale Ave. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Bobby Denning’s van, equipped with a wheelchair lift, continues to be used by his three daughters and son-in-law when they travel together. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Despite not being used since his death in 2016, Bobby Denning’s boat is maintained in pristine condition. (Kathy Grant Westbrook|mountolivetribune.com)
Driving past the Bobby Denning Furniture Superstore these days is cause enough for a double take. The storefront has been completely remodeled, giving it a fresh, modern look, with two-tone stucco, complementary stonework, sleek light fixtures, metal slat awnings, and bold, red lettering. Why the update now? It was done to honor Bobby and Annie Sue Denning, say their daughters Gwen Denning, Paula Edwards and Donna Denning, who, along with Paula’s husband, David Edwards, run the business their parents devoted their lives to.
In the early 1950s, Bobby Denning — just 15 years old, already confined to a wheelchair because of muscular dystrophy, and with only a third-grade education — started his business by repairing radios in Grantham. As TVs became more common in the ‘50s, he began repairing and selling those, too.
By the late ‘70s or early 80s, he decided to close his Grantham store and concentrate on growing the second store he’d already opened in Mount Olive, albeit in a different location from where it is today, according to his daughters.
As the business grew, he had a constant companion — both personally and professionally — in his wife, Annie Sue. “She was his side-kick,” recalls Paula. “Wherever you saw him, you saw her. To me, he was a backbone, but she was the backbone.”
The Dennings moved their business — which, in addition to the furniture superstore, includes a properties division that owns hundreds of rentals — to its current location, in an 80,000 square-foot building they purchased. Their business occupies 70,000 square feet, with the other 10,000 already rented, or available to rent, to other businesses.
Bobby and Annie Sue continued working until they passed away — Bobby in 2016 and Annie Sue in 2023 — and their presence is still very much felt at the store today. The rocking chair Annie Sue occupied much of the time is positioned so that it’s visible through the office windows that overlook the furniture showroom, and above those windows are numerous images (a painted portrait and several photos) of Bobby. Behind the store are two of Bobby’s prized possessions: his boat (which hasn’t been used since his passing, but is kept in pristine condition) and his specially-equipped van (which the family uses anytime they go anywhere together).
With their parents gone, the sisters are following in their footsteps, having been taught the value of hard work early on.
“Daddy didn’t believe in just handing it to you,” remembers Gwen. “We had to earn our way [in the business] just like everybody else did, from the bottom to the top up…Like me, for example, they’d put a toolbox in the front seat [of the delivery truck] and I’d sit on the toolbox, even though I didn’t do a lot of work, I had to ride with the delivery guys until I learned it.”
Paula and Donna chime in, recalling that, as youngsters, they were all tasked with vacuuming and dusting, which in a large furniture store, is no small chore.
Today, everyone is cross-trained to work in any area of the business, although each person has her, or his, own specialty area. Donna works in accounts payable and ordering, Gwen in real estate, Paula in accounts receivable and credit management, and David in real estate.
They also acknowledge long-term employees who’ve been instrumental in the business, including Judith Jones, who served as bookkeeper for 44 years until her retirement, and Esbeida “Beth” Martinez who’s been with the Dennings for 24 years.
“She’s like a sister,” Donna says of Beth, who, in addition to working with the store’s Hispanic customers (she’s bilingual) fills in wherever in the store she’s needed.
When asked about the long-term success of the Denning business — stretching back to when their parents built it and continuing today when the second generation is running it — Gwen states forthrightly, “You either commit to it or quit.”
Donna says hard work and dedication are key, with Martinez offering that customer service is to be credited. “I feel like they treat everyone as if they were family,” she says. “You talk to them [customers] just like regular people and you let them know that we’re no more or no less than you are. I think that’s what brings customers here; they feel comfortable.”
“We appreciate every customer we’ve got,” notes Gwen. “We’ve grown up with a lot of them. We can’t express ‘thank you’ enough to them.”
The sisters are quick to point out that theirs is but one of many successful generational family businesses in town, and they quickly list several others, including: Lee, Inc. (auto sales), Roberts Machine Shop, Buddy’s Jewelry, Sleep Inn, and Tony’s Service Center. “It’s something to be said for Mount Olive that it’s got a lot of family businesses still open, and still pushing and working,” notes Gwen.
They agree that they’d like to see even more flourishing businesses, which, in addition to honoring their parents, was a second reason for the recent remodel. “We felt like we wanted to be more up-to-date with the design to entice companies to come here,” says Gwen, adding that they have plans to do more updating in the future, possibly re-paving and re-striping the parking lot.
The remodeling process went very smoothly once it was underway — the sisters put it in the hands of their cousin, Kent Warren, with Jackson Builders in Goldsboro — but getting started was another matter entirely.
It was something they’d been planning for years but during the time between when Bobby died and when Annie Sue died, “We were in the process of getting quotes,” Donna remembers, “and COVID hit, so that just throwed it by the wayside. And then the price of wood just shot up…”
And, then, she continues, in January of 2023, the blow that was so unexpected: “Mama died.”
But, she says, “Here we are. We did it….We think Ma and Daddy’d be proud.”
Bobby Denning Superstore is located at 1126 N. Breazeale Ave. The number is 919-658-8745. Hours are Monday – Friday, 8:30 – 5, and Saturday, 8:30 – 4.
