Reselling office furniture, MedCentral Outlet hopes to grow further as 2022 comes to an end

Theodore Tollefson, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read

Nov. 25—ROCHESTER — After moving into the former Toys R Us store near Apache mall, Todd Torgrimson and Todd Robertson have enjoyed three months of flourishing business with their used furniture and appliance store; MedCentral Outlet and Transportation.

While business has been good for Torgrimson and Robertson, because of low staffing they are only able to have the store open twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.

"We'd like to be open nine to five every day if we could get some more employees," said Robertson. "We have three employees right now, one full-time and two part-time and we definitely would like to hire a couple more full-time people."

The business has open positions in sales and digital web design.

MedCentral Outlet has been receiving daily deliveries from local suppliers and hotel liquidation sales across southeast Minnesota. According to Robertson, MedCentral receives on average two to three truck loads each weekday filled with old chairs, desks, lamps and other things.

There is no shortage of space for all of it, as the building has 45,000 square feet with extra storage in back.

During the short hours that MedCentral Outlet is open, foot traffic into the store is still heavy, Robertson said.

"There was a need in the community for this business and it's been good for us and our customers. We're really busy and so people are really liking it," he said.

What keeps people coming back to MedCentral Outlet are the prices — often cheaper than that found at a chain furniture mart or big box store.

"The biggest thing is that they're getting very nice quality and very inexpensive items here. That's been our biggest asset, that people can't believe our prices when they come in," Robertson said. "For example, mini fridges are $30 that we sell a lot to kids going to college. A lot of that is why we're so busy and with all the stuff we sell, it's really price-driven."