Host Makes The Move To A Bigger Showroom

For Doug Reinke, the decision to move his furniture store location in Chestnut Hill from the corner of Southampton Avenue to just below Willow Grove Avenue wasn’t all that complicated.

The new Host showroom measures roughly 3500 square feet.  Reinke said it is about four times the size of his original store.  

“I loved the location that I was in before,” said Reinke.  “But seeing as the primary focus of my business is furniture, the space was just a little bit tight.”

Reinke said the original idea to move Host to its new location started coming together several months ago.   The new store is partially open already and Reinke plans to have it fully operational by the end of the month.

“I have some pieces that will be coming in by the end of the week,” he said.  “We should be fully open and all set up by the end of October though.”

Reinke’s first store, Host in Chestnut Hill opened in 2006.  Reinke would later go on to open a second location in Old City.  The Chestnut Hill store remains an important part of his business for several reasons.  

For one, Reinke said you can’t beat the location.

“There’s a really good core market in Chestnut Hill,” said Reinke.  “I think it’s got a pretty diverse population - a lot of bigger, older homes and a lot of smaller, starter homes in a really good demographic.  There’s a very nice local customer base here.”

Of course, the locals aren’t the only pull for Reinke setting up shop on the Hill.  He said having a store in Chestnut Hill also has the perk of drawing out-of-towners that may not want to go to the trouble of driving all the way downtown.  

“[In Chestnut Hill] I draw people from the Main Line, Bucks County, even New Jersey,” said Reinke.  “It’s a little easier for those people to get into Chestnut Hill sometimes.”

Specializing in custom-made furniture, Host carries some well-known national names including Lee and Mitchell Gold & Bob Williams.  Reinke hopes the new location will help him show off some of these impressive American brands.  

“With the new store I’m going to be able to show a great selection of upholstery,” said Reinke.  “The whole thing with the lines I carry is it’s all custom orders. People will be able to pick from over 100 fabrics and 200 leathers. Everything is custom made in North Carolina and it takes about four to six weeks [from purchase to delivery.]

The new Host is located at 7908 Germantown Avenue. The former location of Host will soon be home to .