The custom furniture shop Berkeley Mills announced its closure in July after 37 years, citing “high costs and low margins” along with mounting debt, and filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in August. But after finding new investors, the shop is open for business again with co-founder Gene Agress back at the helm after stepping down as CEO in early 2025 due to health issues.
“We opened about five months ago, but we didn’t let anybody know because there was so much work we had to do to get open again,” said Agress.
Agress was able to hire back 11 of the 30 employees who were laid off in July, and is hoping to hire back a few more. Agress, 78, is also healthy again, after undergoing heart surgery, he said, and is now in the process of nursing his company back to health…