Rochester-based Ruby-Gordon Home files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy

Thomas Lester, Furniture Today//November 22, 2023//

Ruby-Gordon's Greece, N.Y., location (now closed). (Photo by Kevin Oklobzija)

Thomas Lester, Furniture Today//November 22, 2023//

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Third-generation home furnishings retailer Ruby-Gordon Home filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection Nov. 20 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court Western District of New York.

Aaron Ruby, owner and CEO of the two-store, Rochester-based retailer, told Furniture Today that the filing is an effort to get back on track. He said pressures created during the pandemic, plus Klaussner’s sudden closure earlier this year proved to be too much.

“We’ve been struggling to recover since 2020. Unfortunately, in the last eight months, too much went sideways in too short an amount of time. Klaussner going out the way they did was the straw that broke our back,” Ruby said. “We’re hoping that Chapter 11 gives us a chance at having a future, we’re just not certain exactly what that will look like.”

In the filing, Ruby-Gordon listed an estimated $1,000,001 to $10 million in total assets with $1,000,001 to $10 million in total liabilities to an estimated 100 to 199 creditors.

Ruby-Gordon was founded in in 1936 by Frank Ruby. Six years later, he partnered with Ted Gordon. Ray Ruby, Frank’s son served as second generation owner and spearheaded the move to Henrietta in the 1960s.

Today, it is owned by Ray’s son Aaron and his wife, Janetta Ruby, who represent the third generation of family ownership.

In addition to its Henrietta flagship Ruby-Gordon has a second Rochester showroom in Greece Ridge.