After nearly 80 years of selling sofas, carpet rolls and dining sets to Grand Rapids shoppers, Sullivan's Carpet and Furniture is shutting its doors for good. The store, which spent 77 years anchoring a stretch of 28th Street, is now headed to auction, with its remaining furniture, flooring and even its forklifts set to go to the highest bidder next week.
The closure was confirmed by Crain's Grand Rapids Business, which reported that Sullivan's Carpet and Furniture is closing after nearly 80 years in business and that it operated on 28th Street for 77 years. A public online auction through Orbitbid.com will sell off all remaining inventory, according to WOOD Radio Local News.
What's Going Under the Gavel
The auction will include new sofas, sectionals, bedroom sets and dining furniture, along with carpet rolls, tiles and other flooring inventory, per the station's report. Forklifts, warehouse racking and hand tools are also up for bid, the outlet notes, rounding out a sale that covers both the showroom floor and the back-of-house equipment that kept the operation running.
Open bidding starts Monday, Nov. 16, and lots begin closing Tuesday, Nov. 17, at 6 p.m. Eastern, the same account states. Shoppers curious about what's for sale don't have to bid blind: previews are scheduled at the former store from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. on both Nov. 16 and Nov. 17, giving the public a last look inside before everything is hauled away.
Pickup and Logistics
Pickup begins Wednesday, Nov. 18, and buyers are responsible for loading and hauling their own purchases, the same source reports. That detail matters for anyone eyeing the larger items on the list — a forklift or a run of warehouse racking isn't exactly curbside-pickup friendly.
A Legacy Rooted in Grand Rapids
The business carried the name of Bob Sullivan, who died at the age of 96 on Feb. 17, 2026, according to MLive. Sullivan wasn't just known for carpet and furniture; he was also remembered locally as a baseball figure, and Grand Rapids' west side is home to a field named in his honor.
About a year before the closure was reported, the store was still marking milestones rather than packing up. WOODTV.com reported that Sullivan's Carpet & Furniture was celebrating 77 years in business with a special sale, offering 20%-60% off everything. That anniversary promotion stands in contrast to the liquidation auction now underway, a shift from celebration to closure that played out across two calendar years.
Sullivan's was located at 1860 28th St. SE near Kalamazoo Avenue SE, a stretch of Grand Rapids where the store had been a fixture for generations of shoppers furnishing their homes. With the inventory auction now set and pickup arrangements finalized, the store's physical presence on 28th Street is entering its final chapter.
