Melby’s Home Interiors is finding some normalcy after its building on U.S. 2 burned Sept. 27. The company moved into the former First Citizens Bank at Nucleus Avenue and Fifth Street West in Columbia Falls recently thanks at the generosity of local resident Mick Ruis. 

Steve and Debbie Melby celebrates the store’s 50th year last week. He said they can’t have a true celebration after what happened, but maybe they’ll wait until the 51st anniversary. 

They plan to rebuild at the U.S. 2 location.

“Our building was destroyed and our inventory was destroyed, but our heart and our soul is still going strong, if not stronger,” Steve said. “It’s very uplifting to see how everybody’s pulled together for us.”

The fire destroyed furniture and carpeting in the main building worth about $1 million, Steve estimated, but he said he really doesn’t know exactly because all records were destroyed. Even information about customers burned. 

He said that he wants his customers to call if they feel neglected. The phones were transferred to a cellphone in the days after the fire, posing a challenge for customers to get in touch with them. He was relieved when the phone system was set up at the Nucleus store.

Melby’s hasn’t laid off any employees but actually brought in two people to help with the extra work, Steve said. For now, the employees work the same hours during the work week and everyone is off on Saturdays.

The store will not be open Saturdays and doesn’t have formal hours besides closing at 5 p.m. He said his focus is on getting set up and taking care of his existing customers. The company is staying busy with work that was scheduled before the fire. The carpet crews are booked through November. 

Ruis originally planned to let Melby’s use the former Park Mercantile across the street, but the old bank was a better fit. It allowed them to move in right away and have more space to put merchandise.

Steve’s sister, Jacki Phillips of Kalispell, offered to help out with the move. 

He is “lucky to be so well loved,” she said while waiting for the next box truck to deliver more furniture.

“Furniture is his whole life. He’s worked really hard for this,” she said. “It’s devastating for him but his attitude is good.”

Phillips worked to open boxes of new furniture that had been stored in three separate off-site storage units. The company buys furniture at market twice a year and always gets extra to keep the showroom well-stocked, Melby said. This surplus helped the business recover with their furniture inventory but most of the carpet was lost because it was stored next to the main building that burned.