Dovetail Design, the fine furniture store in downtown Grass Valley, has been slashing prices in preparation for going out of business.

Since then, sales have been so brisk that owner Tim Kincaid said he will keep the store open.

The success of the going-out-of-business sale has generated enough sales to allow him to pay down debts and give the store a second chance, Kincaid said in a written statement.

Customers "opened up their wallets and they shopped," Kincaid said in the statement. "I haven't seen this type of willingness to purchase big-ticket items since early 2005."

The liquidation sale will continue through the end of the month, then the store will close for remodeling and to replenish the inventory, Kincaid said.

"I still want to empty the entire store," Kincaid said in the statement. "God willing, we'll re-open with a new look, a new feel and maybe even a new name, right around Memorial Day weekend."

Meanwhile, Dovetail is violating a Grass Valley ordinance that bans hand-held promotional signs, Grass Valley Downtown Association Executive Director Howard Levine said Tuesday.

People holding a sign advertising the store's going-out-of-business sale have been spotted since the closure was announced at the busy intersection of Brunswick Road and Sutton Way in Grass Valley, and on Zion Street and near Pioneer Park in Nevada City.



To contact City Editor Trina Kleist, e-mail tkleist@theunion.com or call 477-4230.