The Local Legends of Puyallup: Small Businesses Worth Falling in Love With

In the Puyallup-Sumner area, one furniture store has spent more than seven decades proving that a family business built on craftsmanship and genuine community generosity can become something far more beloved than its product category ever suggested.

The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse: A Firefighter's Side Hustle Became a 200,000-Square-Foot Local Legend

More than half a century ago, Tony Grout worked as a firefighter at Tacoma's Station No. 2, back when the department only responded to actual fires — leaving him with significant downtime between calls. A talented woodworker and craftsman, Tony started reupholstering furniture right there in the firehouse. By 1953, the hobby had outgrown the station, and Tony and his wife Mabeth moved the operation into their own home on Enchanted Island near Spanaway Lake, which quickly became a live-in furniture store.

In 1984, the Grouts moved the growing business into a turn-of-the-century brick building in Sumner — the historic Old Cannery, named for the produce cannery the building had once housed, a connection to Tony's own childhood memories of bringing peaches back from Yakima for processing there. Tony commissioned a mural on the store's exterior depicting the cannery in its earlier days, complete with three-dimensional figures bringing in produce. He continued expanding the building until his last addition in 1995, and remained involved until his passing in 2001.

Today, under CEO Dave Radcliffe — who became a furniture supplier to the Grouts before joining the company in 2001 to help Sherry Grout run day-to-day operations — The Old Cannery has grown into one of the largest privately owned furniture stores on the West Coast, spanning roughly 200,000 square feet with a 77,000-square-foot showroom and around 80 to 100 employees. But what makes The Old Cannery genuinely beloved goes well beyond the furniture itself. Seven scale miles of suspended model train track wind through the showroom, maintained by two full-time employees. A scratch-made fudge shop offers 28 rotating flavors, crafted on a bar that Tony himself built from a 103-year-old birch tree that fell during a 1993 storm at Sumner's historic Ryan House — Tony salvaged the fallen tree himself after the city called to ask if he wanted it. Seven talking animatronic characters, including a greeter named Jake, share pieces of the building's history with every visitor who lingers nearby.

The Old Cannery's community involvement runs just as deep as its quirky charm. The store hosts military appreciation dinners, Thanksgiving turkey donations, summer carnivals that give away 30,000 hot dogs, free family photos with Santa and the Easter Bunny, an annual holiday bridge lighting with the City of Sumner complete with hot chocolate and roasted nuts, and ongoing support for cancer walks and families facing hardship — including sending more than $80,000 in donated furniture to flood victims in Centralia.

Why locals love them: Multiple generations of the same families return — grandparents who furnished their first homes here now bring grandchildren who are "train fanatics" to watch the same overhead tracks — proof that a furniture store built around genuine fun and community generosity becomes something people return to for decades, not just a single purchase.

Why Local Businesses Matter to Puyallup

The Old Cannery's seventy-plus year journey from a firehouse side hustle to a beloved regional institution reflects exactly what Dave Radcliffe describes as the company's actual mission: not selling furniture, but creating an experience and giving back to the community that has supported the Grout family since 1953.

FAQ: Supporting Local Businesses in Puyallup

Which local businesses should I support in Puyallup? The Puyallup-Sumner area is home to The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse, a family-owned furniture store with roots dating to 1953 that has become a beloved regional destination far beyond furniture shopping alone.

Why are small businesses important to a community? Family-owned businesses like The Old Cannery demonstrate genuine, sustained community investment — from holiday events to disaster relief furniture donations — that builds multi-generational loyalty no corporate retailer can replicate.

Discover More Local Favorites in Puyallup

Discover more amazing local businesses that make our community special — explore Everything Puyallup. Support the heart of our community — see more neighborhood favorites featured here.

References:

The Old Cannery Furniture Warehouse. (n.d.). History. https://www.oldcanneryfurniture.com/history

South Sound Biz. (2022). The Old Cannery: More Than a Store. https://www.southsoundbiz.com/news/the-old-cannery-more-than-a-store/article_d5348568-407c-593a-bca8-5c687fbfc89a.html