The Shadow
FINCASTLE VA, (VR) – In an era of flat-pack imports and particle board, Family Heirloom Furniture in Fincastle is quietly building something increasingly rare, a true, multi-generation, family-owned furniture business rooted in craftsmanship, faith, and long- term relationships with its customers. Manager Bob Joyce began making dining room tables in 1995, long before Heirloom Furniture opened its current location at the former
laundromat next to the Quik-E gas station on U.S. 220. What started as a one-man woodworking operation grew into a 25-yearlong labor of love in his Gap Mills, W.V. store before the family made the move closer to home. “I started making dining room tables back in 1995,” Joyce said. “We had a store in Gap Mills, West Virginia, for about 25 years, and then my son said he was interested in starting a store.”
His son Tim, who lives in Fincastle, found the building that now houses Heirloom Furniture and helped bring the business across the state line. The Fincastle store has been open for about a year, and Joyce jokes that the roles have flipped.
“It’s their business, but I guess that makes me a manager now, working for my son, and my son working with me,” he said.
Heirloom Furniture is very much a family affair. Bob and his wife help with management, bookkeeping and picking up furniture. Tim and his wife, Ellen, own and work in the store, and the couple’s children, Bob’s grandchildren, pitch in as well.
The family is also expanding its offerings. In addition to indoor furniture, they carry outdoor poly furniture and plan to add deer hunting blinds to the outdoor lot, reflecting the needs of customers in Botetourt County and the surrounding region.
Joyce’s roots remain in the lumberyard and workshop, and his knowledge of wood and grain guides the products Heirloom Furniture sells.
Early in his career, he worked almost exclusively with FAS (First and Second) clear lumber, cutting out knots to achieve flawless tabletops. Over time, he has watched customer tastes change. Today, most of the tables Heirloom sells are in a more rustic style, with tops that retain the natural knots and character of the tree, filled and finished smoothly.
“You look at the tabletop now, and it’s the boards naturally like they’re coming out of the tree,” he said. “You see the character in the wood as it grew.”
The store works closely with Amish furniture makers in Ohio and Pennsylvania, dealing directly with small shops. Joyce and his family pick up much of the furniture themselves, maintaining a close relationship with the craftsmen who build it.
Heirloom offers a wide variety of table styles and many species of wood, including red oak, white oak, quarter-sawn white oak, cherry, hickory, and maple, along with dozens of stain colors. One custom table project stretched an impressive twenty-four feet to fill an exceptionally large room.
Beyond dining, the store carries bedroom sets — beds, dressers, nightstands, and chests — and living room pieces such as recliners, loveseats, and sofas, some with exposed wood arms and storage options. Many pieces can be customized in size, wood, and finish.
Joyce says Heirloom Furniture has drawn customers from Clifton Forge, Covington, Eagle Rock and far beyond, including many who previously shopped with him in Gap Mills and tracked him down in Fincastle. One couple who bought a swivel glider from him 15 years ago recently returned to purchase another, having followed his trail to the new location.
Behind the business side, Joyce is clear about what motivates his family.
“It’s not just to make a living, provide for the family, and the family get involved,” he said.
“It’s also about the Lord God. We give credit to Him for any success here, or whatever happens, for His glory.”
He describes Heirloom Furniture as a faith-based business built on biblical principles, including the Golden Rule. Those values also figure into their decision to remain closed on Sundays, and into their commitment to stand behind what they sell and make things right when problems arise.
Heirloom Furniture is located in the former laundromat building at the Quik-E gas station on U.S. 220 in Fincastle. The store is open Tuesday through Friday from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Saturday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. and is closed Sunday and Monday.
Appointments outside regular hours can be arranged, and delivery is available.
In a region that still values family, faith and quality, Heirloom Furniture offers solid wood furniture crafted with care and sold by three generations working side by side under the same roof. Whether it’s before the calm of the next upholstered sofas and chairs make up a huge part of their inventory but Bob doesn’t ever forget Maple, Oak, Cherry, and Walnut.
