PEORIA MAGAZINE June 2023

MOM AND POP

FROM BRADFORD, GOING HOLLYWOOD Green Gables Furniture in Stark County is the licensed merchandiser for the hit TV series Yellowstone

BY LINDA SMITH BROWN PHOTOS BY RON JOHNSON

Rouse, 47, and his wife Tricia, 46, have owned Green Gables Furniture since 2012, when they purchased the company from Bob’s mother after his father’s death. Rouse had started working for his father’s company in the shop, where he worked for 18 years. “I’ve built the product and I can still go out to the shop and build product, if necessary,” said Rouse. THE YELLOWSTONE BACKSTORY Yellowstone , starring Kevin Costner as head of the Dutton family in Montana, started airing in 2018 and last fall launched its fifth season. After watching three seasons of the TV series, Bob and Tricia decided to approach Paramount, the company that owns the show, about becoming its licensed furniture merchandiser. They started making phone calls. “Our timing could not have been better,” Tricia said. Paramount representatives were planning to attend the High Point Market, the nation’s prestigious furniture showplace in High Point, N.C., specifically looking for a company to do their licensed merchandising. After a few Zoom meetings, phone conversations and exchanges of ideas

Bill Rouse, left, and Bob and Tricia Rouse of Green Gables in Bradford

B ob Rouse of Bradford has been watching Yellowstone , the top scripted television program in the country, but not just to see the latest dramas of the Dutton family. As the owner of Green Gables Furniture in Bradford, Rouse enjoys watching shows depicting Americana in their sets and furniture. In 2021, Rouse went from being an avid viewer to becoming Yellowstone ’s sole furniture merchandising partner. “For what Yellowstone represents, I think we were a perfect fit as an Ameri can-made furniture manufacturer, doing a lot of western-style designs already,” said Rouse.

A LITTLE HISTORY Rouse’s father started Green Gables Furniture in the family’s three-car garage, making small pieces that were sold at craft shows. His parents, Bill and Marlene Rouse, quit their day jobs in the mid-1980s to run their own business, then built a 14,000-square-foot building for it. In 2016, the company moved into a new, 50,000-square-foot manufac turing facility. The name Green Gables harkens back to the family’s antique store from decades ago, named for the building’s green gable shutters.

62 JUNE 2023 PEORIA MAGAZINE