Madison Hall began business as a high–end furniture store in 1976 at 3205 Devine Street. It was put together by Sandy and Joe Dillard and Fran and Walter Bull. The opportunity to open was the closing of Smoak’s Furniture on Devine Street near Maple Street. Then, as now, Columbia could carry only so much offering in high–end furniture.

Similarly, when Taylor Garden Center closed its doors at Forest Lake Shopping Center, the Bulls took the opportunity to open Sterling Garden Center off Huger Street. They kept their ownership interest in place at Madison Hall, but they left the day–to–day management of Madison Hall in the hands of the Dillard family.

In 1986, Pete Dillard joined his sister Jane and his mother Sandy at Madison Hall. Today, he is the general manager, and his customer concentration follows a 60–mile radius. Charleston, Charlotte, and Green-ville pull their customers from a similar distance, so there is overlap, but Dillard serves customers from those cities, too.

Madison Hall stocks classic furniture, the type that never goes out of style. They get most of the goods from the furniture mart in High Point, NC, which is the largest in the world. However, High Point is getting some competition from Las Vegas and its upstart furniture mart. Another change in the industry is the volume of goods imported from the Far East, especially China, Vietnam, and the Philippines.  

Madison Hall stays with English and domestic brands it has sold for the past 30 years. Two from England, for instance, are Yorkshire House and Bevan Funnell.

And two domestic brands come from NC, Councill and Hickory Chair.

For most of the year, the furniture business is consistent. For two months, February and August, business slows, but manufacturers entice the buying public to shop. Come February (and August, too), everything on the floor at Madison Hall and anything on order can be bought for half–price. The store is following an industry–wide schedule and its suppliers’ pricing opportunities. It has always been that way.

When Madison Hall located on Devine Street, the Winn–Dixie was on the CVS/Earth Fare block, and Rice Music House was across the street, where it still stands. At the eastern edge of the Devine Street retail corridor, Madison Hall opened late for the Devine Evening Christmas shoppers’ stroll. The first year, they closed at 7:30. The second, at 8:30, and after the third year they stayed open till ten. Devine Street has evolved much to Madison Hall’s favor.

The current rush of commercial construction concerns Pete Dillard a little because he hates to see the Devine Street flavor threatened. Everyone on the street is interested to see what First Citizens Bank does with its corner.

Dillard shops for his family’s store the way he advises his customers: Never buy anything you don’t really like because you may be looking at it for a long, long time.

Pete Dillard