Jonathan Beasley of Frostproof, the store manager of Badcock Home Furnishings in Lake Wales, has had a rough week. His store, along with over 300 others across 8 states, is closing as a part of the filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection by Conn’s HomePlus, who purchased the company in December 2023.
Badcock has a rich history, particularly in Lake Wales, where Beasley is the third generation to work at the store. And it’s been here longer than you may know.
“Badcock has been around since 1904, so 120 years this year; my grandfather opened this store, it was actually downtown, July 15, 1962,” says Beasley.
“He moved it out here (to its current location) during the 80s; it burnt down at one point, he built it back, and this building and store have been here since. My dad bought the business (from his father-in-law) about 35 years ago.”
Beasley has been managing it for about 9 years. The news of the closing came by email, and without warning. The family, and the store’s employees, are still in shock.
Linda Lopez has worked there for 20 years, and RV Aldridge, a well-known employee of the store, has been there 27 years. At the time of this interview, she had not yet been advised of the store’s closing as Beasley wanted the opportunity to tell her in person. A handful of other employees have worked for the company for less time, but are no less valued.
Management is giving the employees the flexibility to look for other work as their time ticks down at the Badcock store. Beasley doesn’t want them to miss out on a job opportunity or to do what’s best for them.
“It’s not a community failure, it’s not an individual business failure, it’s just a corporate failure, and it just trickles down to us,” says Beasley.
“It’s got to be cash flow. People aren’t buying like they were, pre-COVID and during the pandemic, and business just went down after that. It probably started to really decline in July of 2022, and it’s just gotten worse.
“When you do that for two years straight, it obviously is a struggle. We just didn’t expect it to go this bad this quickly.” 
The store is located at 126 S.R. 60 W. Beasley’s father owns the building, along with the trucks and other assets, and is responsible for the employees. Once the store closes, the family will have to make a decision on the building, which they own.
As a dealer, they maintain just about everything but the actual products they sell. The store will begin running a closing sale, and will be open for approximately 90 days. Beasley says a fixed closing date has not been set, but would likely be towards the end of October.
Along with his employees, Jonathan himself will be looking for a new job to help support his family, including his wife and young child. but right now, he’s focused on doing what’s best for his team and his business.
“We’re really hoping that we can hold it all together for that 90 days and kind of all go down together, I guess.”
