Celebrating Business

Fred’s Beds, Giving Residents a Good Night’s Sleep for 38 Years

Waterbeds were the craze when Frank Stansbury started selling waterbeds and futons at the flea market on the North Carolina State Fairgrounds in 1985.

Frank brought in a few mattress sets to add to the inventory. “I could foresee the trend away from water beds,” Frank said. “I brought in three mattress sets, and they sold fast.” 

Frank opened a two-bay building storefront on Hillsborough Street in Raleigh. Fred’s Beds was born.

“We opened a store on Western Boulevard and from there we expanded to five stores and several franchises,” said Beth.

“Fred’s Beds was all Frank,” Beth credits her husband with the success of Fred’s Beds. She taught school but in 1997 Beth started helping with the bookkeeping. In 2008 she took over the bookkeeping duties.

Today the company operates two stores – the one in the Hampstead/Scotts Hill area and the Southport store owned by Joel and Lisa Humphrey, who are Frank and Beth’s daughter and son-in-law.

In 1994 Fred’s Beds opened a store in Wilmington – where Ivy Cottage is currently located. Four years later, the Hampstead building at 11135 Hwy 17 opened. “In 2007 we moved next door and recently we moved back to our first Hampstead store – a building we had built,” Beth said.

Fred’s Beds employees deliver and set up furniture and mattresses sold at the store. More than 20 years ago, they hired a 19-year-old kid named Maurice Johnson to work on the delivery team. “He was so good with customers,” Beth said. “I told Frank we need him on the sales floor.” Maurice has served as the store manager for many years. “We’ve been very fortunate,” said Beth. “We’ve had good personnel.”

As residents of Topsail Island, supporting North Carolina companies such as Kingsdown, Serta, and Beautyrest, is a priority, explained Beth. “Most everything we sell is American-made,” said Jason Leonard, who has worked for Fred’s Beds since 2011. “Vaughan-Bassett Furniture is made in Virginia and our metal beds are made in California. “The Posh+Lavish line, a latex mattress, is only available in NC at Fred’s Beds. The creator of the company, a man Frank worked with years ago, said he would only deal with one business per state. “All of us sleep on latex mattresses,” added Beth. “They provide the best sleep.”

Fred’s Beds is more than mattresses and bedroom furniture. They offer a wide range of futons, with various frames, arms, mattress thickness, and materials. Customers can customize the style and color to fit any décor. They also offer a unique Murphy bed that is in a cabinet. What looks like a standard sideboard-type cabinet, folds out into a Murphy bed. “The design also has a small side table that folds out,” Maurice points out.

Through the years, Fred’s Beds has weathered storms and continued to serve the community during disasters. When Hurricane Fran hit the area, Frank asked Kingsdown to donate a truckload of mattresses. Fred’s Beds distributed the mattresses to Topsail residents in need. When Frank and Beth were evacuated from Topsail Island before Hurricane Florence, they encouraged their neighbors to come and stay at the store. “We had plenty of beds,” Beth laughed.

In 2019 Hurricane Dorian glanced our coastline and spawned tornadoes. At that time, Fred’s Beds was next door, where Kinteco Water is currently located. Scotts Hill Market, a boutique where vendors sold handmade items, antiques, and furniture, was Fred’s Beds’ neighbor. “I received a telephone call that an alarm had sounded at Scotts Hill Market. I was asked if I would run over to take a look,” recalled Beth, thinking a window had blown open. “I walked inside and saw the sky while some fragile items were still sitting on shelves.” A tornado had taken part of the roof off of the building. After the Scotts Hill Market was restored, Fred’s Beds moved into the market building, which was originally Fred’s Beds in the late 90s.

While many furniture stores and mattress warehouses have come and gone, Fred’s Beds has enjoyed tremendous success in our business community. Stop by Fred’s Beds, 11135 US Hwy 17. The store is open Mondays through Saturdays 9 a.m. – 5 p.m., and Sundays 12-4 p.m. For more information call Maurice and/or Jason at 910-686- 3636.