Hallstead, PA, June 27--In the fall of 1986, workers here began cleaning out an old building on Main Street that had sat empty for at least five years. Many local residents began chatting about the viability of the borough's latest enterprise, according to the Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin.
The store sells different types of flooring at its stores in Montrose and Hallstead, but carpeting remains the largest segment of its business.
"People couldn't believe a carpet store was coming to Hallstead, let alone one owned by a woman," recalled Gail George, the proprietor of Liberty Carpet.
There were doubts about whether the business would last. Main Street doesn't get the traffic it did in the times before Interstate 81, and Hallstead's commercial strip isn't a suburban retail district of the type traditionally favored by home stores.
But Liberty Carpet has persevered. The Hallstead store's interior has been remodeled, and a second store has been added in Montrose, Pa.
"I think I've fooled a lot of people," George said.
The Liberty stores sell different types of flooring. There are ceramic tiles, hardwoods, sheet-vinyl and laminates. But carpeting accounts for the most sales.
Vinyl comes in large rolls and is stacked seven high in racks. Sales in this segment have grown to rank second only to carpets -- something George credited to expanded designs and improvements in quality.
"You can't tell if it's ceramic tile or vinyl until you actually touch it," she said.
A remnant store in New Milford was open between 1990 and 2000. It was only a seasonal operation, and was replaced by the Montrose store. This outlet, at 7,000 square feet, is larger than the Hallstead site and carries both remnants and special-order items.
Carpet remnants are often confused with the scraps left over when sections are trimmed to fit a room. Instead, they are the portions that remain on carpet rolls. It is often cheaper to bring in an entire roll than have it cut to size at the factory. And what remains on the roll is held for stock.
"If I can make the right deal," George said, "I can sell the carpet below what it would have cost me to order it."
About three-quarters of sales involve the installation of flooring. Four crews, which work as independent contractors, are used for laying down the products.
The Liberty Carpets stores draw customers from their surrounding areas, including out-of-towners from Philadelphia, New York City and New Jersey staying at their second homes during the summer months. A sizeable clientele comes from Greater Binghamton.
George is one of seven employees, and as such she is a hands-on owner. When she's not in a store -- she works mostly from Hallstead -- she is on the road. "I do most of the measuring in the Binghamton area," she said.
Nearly every employee is female -- and George said that even men seemed to appreciate a lady's touch when making decisions about color coordination and decorating associated with picking out a new covering. "Paint, furniture and flooring all go together," she said.
High petroleum prices have pushed up the costs of more than gasoline and home heating oil. Carpet fibers and vinyl sheets both contain petroleum, and suppliers have passed their increased costs on to Liberty Carpets.
"This past year, we've had about 10 price increases," George said. "Usually, there are two or three a year."
Just as high gasoline prices have dissuaded relatively few people from altering their travel plans, higher carpet prices haven't ruined Liberty's business. George said the previous two years have been her best sales years ever.
