Family Discount Furniture motivates other businesses to open at University Mall

TAMPA, Fla. - A family business that started in New Jersey has expanded into the Tampa Bay Area giving new life to a formerly declining mall location.

"Family Discount Furniture is a well established family owned and operated business that started 25 years ago with our father," shared Yousef Hamad. "He established his first location in Newark, New Jersey."

That business thrived for 25 years, and the family saw an opportunity to open a new location in Tampa.

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"We have one of the largest locations in Tampa which is in the University Mall," said Yousef, "When we got an opportunity to come to a mall like this, it made us think can we handle something like that?"

The furniture business required space, lots of space, and the mall location had 150,000 square feet of it.

"It is a new experience for us, not only for us, but the mall as well," said Junior Hamad. "Something new and something fresh."

Their business opening in the mall space that used to be a Dillards Department store breathed new life into the venue. The customers their business attracted, stayed to look at other shops in the mall as well.

"It has motivated other people to open up businesses inside the mall as well... mom-and-pop shops..." shared Hamad. "The experience is very new to us, but it has been tremendous so far."

And tremendous may be an understatement. The business has built on the success of the University Mall area to expand locally already.

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"What we did in 25 years in New Jersey we did it in our first year in Tampa!" exclaimed Yousef. "With the customer support, they gave us the opportunity to open two more locations."

Family Discount Furniture is located in their original Tampa location at the former Dillards store at the University Mall (the side facing Fowler Avenue).

They are open seven days a week at 10 a.m. each day. To learn more about them, click here.

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