A Local Legacy
For almost a century, family-owned BILTRITE has remained committed to provide better-quality, affordable furniture and mattresses as well as unmatched customer service.
In 1928 Irwin Kerns opened BILTRITE, a custom upholstery shop in Milwaukee. Today, the family legacy continues with the third- and fourthgeneration members running the local business alongside their team. While BILTRITE has expanded its footprint, grown its staff size and diversified its product lines to meet evolving customer needs, its core values remain unchanged.
The key to their core values is the store’s commitment to offering affordable, better-quality products and exceptional customer service. At a time when online retailers are providing lower quality home furnishings, BILTRITE stands apart. The family-owned business is one of the area’s last sources for stylish, American and Amish-made, and small-scale furniture as well as hard to find flip-able mattresses. BILTRITE has a 45,000-square-foot showroom in Greenfield, full of items in every look, style and feel, serving all of Wisconsin.
That isn’t the only thing that has remained consistent for nearly a century. The way BILTRITE values its customers starts with how it values its own team. “We are continuing to build our business on the simple idea that we treat our team like family, and then our team will treat our customers like family,” said Randi K., a fourth-generation family member at BILTRITE.
Ten years ago, BILTRITE created a family-friendly, schedule for the team when they implemented “Sunday closed to be with family”. This decision has paid off for BILTRITE, its team and even its customers. “Customers come here because they like our familycentered culture,” said Randi.
Effective the week of Jan. 4, 2026, BILTRITE is implementing a new schedule that will further accommodate their team and ultimately their customers. Mondays the showroom will be closed while the team works hard behind the
“ It’s good to be ‘old school’ in our 24/7 society. We’re a family-owned business and family comes first. ”
RANDI K.
scenes. BILTRITE will receive new inventory, manage in-home deliveries and coordinate operations. This focused time allows them to handle the heavy lifting so they can give customers their full attention when they reopen on Tuesdays. The showroom will be open Tuesday through Thursday from 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Friday from 10 a.m.-7 p.m., for evening shopping, and Saturday from 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sunday will remain closed to be with family. The store will also be open on four special holiday Mondays: Presidents Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day and Indigenous Peoples’ Day. “We are strengthening that commitment to give our incredible BILTRITE team members a better work-life balance and create the best possible culture. Through the years we have gained a lot of wonderful employees because our hours are so family-friendly for retail,” said Randi.
In today’s shopping landscape, it’s hard to find stores so committed to their product, team and customers. This change shows that BILTRITE is run by real people – who want the best for
their customers and their staff members. “We will even be more refreshed and focused on providing you with the best possible service from the most experienced team on Tuesday through Saturday,” said Randi. ◆
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