Lebeda Mattress Factory plans move for southwest Cedar Rapids store

After more than 20 years in leased space, Lebeda Mattress Factory will move in late February to a new building it will own on Edgewood Road SW near Highway 30 in Cedar Rapids.

Russ Miller, CEO and majority owner of the Marion-based bedding retailer, said the 5,700-square-foot store under construction at 3780 Edgewood Rd. SW will be slightly larger than its existing store at 2660 Wiley Blvd. SW.

'We like to own real estate, and rather than go out and do a lot of crazy stuff, we like to wait for opportunities,” Miller said. 'We think moving to our new store will give us a fresher look.

'We seem to do better in stand-alone stores, rather than as a tenant in a strip center.”

Lebeda opened a similar store at 2525 Seventh Ave. in Marion last September. Miller said the company is opening a similar store this week in Dubuque.

Miller said the new southwest Cedar Rapids store is expected to continue attracting customers from rural communities.

'We do a lot of business with rural communities,” Miller said. 'Being out on the edge of town in Cedar Rapids and Marion has been real convenient. We have customers who come from Fairfax, Walford and as far away as Marshalltown.”

Miller said the new store will employ the same number of people as the existing location. Construction began within 10 days of the start of construction of the Dubuque store, he added, but the property presented some challenges.

'All of the fill that went into the land over the years created bad ground,” Miller said. 'We did some testing before we finalized the price for the ground, so we knew what we were getting into.

'The foundation is sitting on 38 micro pilings that go 60 feet deep. The final cost will work out to what we expected.”

Miller, who joined Lebeda Mattress Factory in 1996, has acquired majority ownership over the decades by purchasing the shares of minority shareholders.

The company, which operates a production facility at 3675 Industrial Ave. in Marion, has stores in Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska and distribution centers in Bloomington, Ill., and St. Joseph, Mo. The company traces its history to 1946 when James Lebeda began making mattresses in a small shop in southwest Cedar Rapids.

Whenever possible, Lebeda Mattress Factory purchases the materials for its bedding products from American sources. Springs come from Carthage, Mo., and foam is purchased from suppliers in Iowa and Wisconsin.

Electric adjustable bases made in Kentucky and bedroom furniture sold in the company's stores is produced in California.