Sadler’s Home Furnishings Returns to Wasilla in Refurbished Big-Box Store

FEA is a king-sized player in Alaska furniture, with four Sadler’s Home Furnishings locations, two (soon to be three) Ashley, one Williams & Kay, one La-Z-Boy store, one Ultimate Mattress, and four Mattress Firm stores. When the Ashley and Sadler’s Outlet stores come online later this month, the company will have fifteen stores in Alaska. Cavitt notes that the count will continue to climb next year; FEA plans to open a second Sadler’s Outlet in Anchorage in 2026.

The Wasilla Ashley is expected to open in mid-September, with the Sadler’s Outlet following toward the end of the month. As customers strolled the Sadler’s showroom at the soft opening, workers were busy crafting interior design elements for the Ashley showroom. Each of the stores can be accessed by stepping through interior entryways, making it easy for shoppers to browse all three.

Moving Back, Not Moving In

Sadler’s has operated in Wasilla before. For a short time in the early ‘80s, the company sold furniture at the location that now houses Alaska Industrial Hardware. Cavitt says the recession that knocked out several banks and other businesses—driven by low oil prices—caused Sadler’s to close the store.

It’s taken a while for FEA to return to the Mat-Su, but not for lack of trying. Finding the right location was the primary obstacle, Cavitt says. When Sears was winding down, Cavitt already had his eye on the Seward Meridian store. Its location was perfect.

“It was a great canvas. It’s a very solid, concrete tilt-up construction,” he says, and the interior was very open, with few walls or partitions, making it easy to create a space that flows.

But closing the deal took some time, Cavitt says, and some high-level legal work. Transformco, the company that purchased some Sears Holdings Corporation assets when it went into bankruptcy in 2018, owned the Wasilla building. After its purchase of 425 Sears and Kmart stores, Transformco transformed into a commercial real estate company. Cavitt says the owner rebuffed FEA’s initial attempt to purchase the Wasilla property. Meanwhile, Transformco worked to create a mini-mall of leased space, with Joann Fabrics as an anchor tenant. That process fell through.

At that point, Cavitt says Transformco reconsidered FEA’s offer. After a protracted, year-long negotiation that involved high-level legal wrangling and the fees that accompany it, FEA finally emerged as the owner—and could begin what turned out to be a two-year process of designing and renovating the store.

One wouldn’t know of all those complexities strolling through the showroom, however. A curved path of gray laminate flooring guides shoppers through various sections: Alaskana for a cabin feel; Farmhouse for a clean, cozy look; a contemporary section; and dining, bedroom, mattress, and childrens’ bedroom furniture. Temporary false walls hang from ceilings to make adjustable display spaces, fitted with ceiling-hung electrical outlets to plug in lamps or other accessories.

“There’s some small things that I’m pretty proud of,” Cavitt says of the space.

Sadler’s Home Furnishings is open 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturday, and 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. Sunday.