By CRAIG FREILICH

POTSDAM – The owners and operators of Wholesale Furniture on Plum Brook Road in Winthrop will open a new 'America's Mattress' store in Potsdam March 1, featuring Serta bedding.

“Right now, we have 15 different beds in Winthrop. In the new store we’ll have at least 25,” said Guy A. Cerny. “We wanted to bring a different brand to the North Country.”

The new store will be in the Price Chopper Plaza on outer Market Street.

Cerny, who came to the North Country in the autumn of 2006 from a corporate job in Pittsburgh, said he and his son, Guy R. Cerny, had been talking about expanding beyond the Winthrop store, “and he looked into the opportunity and brought it to me.”

He defines the opportunity as an acceptable cost of ownership of the business, the available space –“we looked at a couple of different places, but the others were too far off the beaten path” – and the availability of a fresh product line with the deal for Serta products.

The March 1 date will be a soft opening, with a grand opening planned for a couple of weeks later. He said inventory will be coming in, but the whole line won’t be available until mid-March.

The prices will range from $299 on up.

The store will be open 10 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. weekdays, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Saturdays, and noon to 6 p.m. Sunday.

Cerny says two full time workers will handle the business.

He says this new business marks a new commitment to the North Country.

“I don’t regret leaving Pittsburgh,” he said. “It’s different here than in a robust city, but it’s worth it. You meet a lot of nice people here.”