Roo Grayson owners looking to sell business and building

As Karla and Julian Binns watched friends start to retire, the two began discussing it themselves.

“So we’re like, hey, how long are we going to wait?” Julian Binns said.

They’re not in a rush, but they’ve decided to put their Roo Grayson Furniture and Design on the market along with the 16,210-square-foot building it’s in at 6200 E. Central, just west of Woodlawn.

“We’re going to wait till we find the right people that we can turn this over to, and it makes sense,” Julian Binns said.

He said no one should confuse this and think the store is closing.

“We’re going full steam. We’re just going to throw it out there.”

This comes after the recent sale of Traditions Home. Julian Binns said it just happens that a lot of store owners are in a similar age bracket.

He and Karla Binns were high school sweethearts but didn’t marry until 14 years ago.

“So we waited a long time,” Karla Binns said. “We just want to enjoy our life.”

She’s quick to add that they certainly enjoy their store, but she said it’s time for someone else to enjoy it.

“There’s a lot of people out there that are talented and could do this.”

And even though she said business is the best it’s ever been, Binns said, “There are probably so many people who could take it and run with it and do probably triple what I’m doing.”

The store opened in 2009 and moved to larger space in 2013.

“It’s just a unique shopping experience,” Karla Binns said. “We have so many different things.”

There is furniture, decor, a design center, a floral department and even a bit of jewelry.

“It’s everything mixed together,” Karla Binns said. “That’s where it makes it unique, and it makes it fun. And I try to hit on all your senses with textures and smells. . . . We have people who just come in over their lunch hour just to walk through because it relaxes them.”

She said customers come from all over the state and even some surrounding states.

“We’ve worked really hard. We have tons of loyal customers.”

Though there’s a summer sale going on now, it’s not a going-out-of-business sale. If the business doesn’t sell, Binns said she’ll “just keep working.”

“We don’t have to retire. . . . We just want to. We’re just ready.”

Even in retirement, she said, “I’ll continue to do my design. He’s going to play golf. I live and breathe design.”

Julian Binns said they’ll complete all their design jobs.

“We’re not going to leave anyone in the lurch.”

Whitney Vliet Ward and Morrie Sheets of J.P. Weigand & Sons have the business and property listed.

If someone wants the building only, Julian Binns said, “We’d have to consider the offer.”

However, even if that happened, they’d still want the business to continue elsewhere.

“We don’t want to close the store. I think Wichita needs it,” Karla Binns said.

“You can take Roo and take it anywhere, and it would still have a following.”

This story was originally published July 14, 2022 11:13 AM.