Foreclosure swallows landmark fabric store

“Don’t worry,’’ Eric Saftler declared recently. “We’re not going out of business.’’

Saftler can stay put until early spring. He is working to find a new storefront in Whitman, although he concedes he may have to move to a spot with better access from major roadways, like the commercial areas in West Bridgewater.

Whichever way it goes, it will mark the end of a Whitman landmark known to many residents in Southeastern Massachusetts. “You could drive a person around blindfolded, then plunk them down here, and they would know exactly where they were,’’ Saftler said.

Joseph Saftler started Saftler’s Fabrics in 1919, selling fabric and notions out of a suitcase to women working in Whitman factories. He opened his first storefront in Abington in the 1920s, but moved back to Whitman in 1937, running a fabric store on the current site in an old barn built in 1890.

Business was not always flush, said Eric Saftler.

“My grandfather hit hard times during the Depression and World War II,’’ he said. But after World War II, the economy improved and so did the sale of fabric.

“My grandfather’s four sons returned from the war, and all joined the business,’’ Saftler said. “The business was growing, and the building was expanded in the 1950s to what it is today.’’ The old barn, he added, is in one corner of the current store building.

Saftler’s Fabrics enjoyed a heyday in the 1980s, employing some 50 workers and topping $2 million in annual gross revenue. “The bridal business back then was huge,’’ said Saftler. “Then bridal shops began to open. Home décor was also good for us until places like Home Depot started offering similar items.’’

He has been grappling with the changing times for the past two decades, trying to keep the family business viable. “With the price of clothes so cheap, people don’t make them themselves anymore,’’ he said. Big-box stores like Wal-Mart and Home Depot further dug into the store’s customer base by offering items like standard blinds at low prices.

Saftler now focuses on craft and quilting supplies, crafts classes, and the sale of high-quality sewing machines. The business also offers custom-cut foam filler for indoor and outdoor furniture and cushions for boats. Currently the store has 20 employees and grosses about $800,000 annually, Saftler said.

But he has recently had trouble keeping his business in the black and making mortgage payments, and last month Mutual Bank picked up his 5-acre site in a foreclosure auction.

The bank had purchased Saftler’s loan from a North Shore-based bank in September for $1.6 million. It held the auction just 46 days later, since Saftler was delinquent with his payments. A couple of developers turned out, but the only serious bidder was the bank itself and the property went for the $1.6 million note value.

Mutual officials said Saftler’s Fabrics was teetering on the brink of foreclosure with its bank long before they stepped in.

“That bank had already postponed foreclosure three times by the time we acquired the note,’’ said Mutual Bank’s chief executive officer, Glen White. “We came in on a Friday, and it had been set to be foreclosed on Monday.’’

The bank looks at the foreclosure as nothing more than a real estate transaction, like any other it regularly makes, its officials said.

It did have a keen interest in the site, though, as it is also based in Whitman. “If the business was going to go anyway, it’s better it went to another community business,’’ said bank president William Morse.

White said the town will benefit by the change of ownership. “We can put that corner to more productive use for the town, and make it a greater source of revenue,’’ he said, adding the bank may construct a branch office there.

“Our customers were hoping we’d get a presence out on Route 18, which would have easier access than our bank in downtown,’’ White said. “The reaction we got from customers on this has been positive.’’

Saftler was initially told he had to be out by the end of November. Since then, Mutual Bank has softened its position, allowing him to remain for a few more months so he can organize his stock and find a new location.

He is getting help with the relocation from the Metro South Chamber of Commerce. “Saftler’s is synonymous with Whitman and Southeastern Massachusetts,’’ said chamber president Christopher Cooney. “It’s very unusual for a business to have passed through generations of family members and served generations of customers. We’re committed to helping them find a new space that will benefit the owner of the building and a business like this that has been a landmark for so long.’’

Saftler says he is optimistic about being able to relocate and continue the business.

“My grandfather survived the Depression, World War II, and some recessions,’’ he said. “We’re fighters.’’

Christine Legere can be reached at christinelegere@yahoo.com.