Rooms to Go Super Center at 30701 Miller Road in Brookshire held its grand opening January 9. Suzanne Rehak photo

It would be hard to miss the new Rooms To Go superstore and distribution center between Brookshire and Katy.

Nearly a million square feet under one roof, stretched out for more than five football fields — 1,600 feet — along Interstate 10, just a couple miles west of the Katy Mills mall. At night, neon sculptures light up what is billed as the largest furniture facility in the state.

"We’re very excited about Houston in general," said Rooms To Go CEO Jeffrey Seaman, who was in town for the store’s Jan. 9 grand opening. "We wanted to do something that was not only visible, but interesting. We thought having those neon sculptures on the front would be fun. We’ve never done this before."

Fifth facility

The giant Brookshire-Katy store is Rooms To Go’s fifth Houston-area facility since entering the market in 2008, and includes a Rooms To Go Kids and a Clearance Center along with its signature package-priced furnishings. The cavernous distribution center, with more than 400 delivery bays, will serve the company’s Houston and South Texas stores, from Austin and San Antonio to McAllen, as well as all of its children’s furniture stores.

The supercenter means 200 new jobs for the Brookshire-Katy area this quarter, with several hundred more before year’s end, said Gerry Raymond, the company’s vice president of sales.

Seaman said he chose the location for its proximity to the booming west Houston market, its I-10 visibility and its available 110-acre site.

"We have room here. We started with a million square feet; we’re thinking that as we build more stores in South Texas, we have room to build," Seaman said. "(The location) sort of hit all the marks."

The company is building a Memorial-area store, and has plans for one on the east side of Houston as well, Seaman said.

Touring the new facility’s 40,000-square-foot, glass-fronted showroom earlier this month, Raymond said Rooms To Go prides itself on the quality, selection and quick availability of its merchandise. The store is arranged in room-like settings rather than departments, and customers can choose a whole room of furnishings for one package price — including matching lamps, rugs and televisions — as well as individual items.

Ninety percent of what’s on display — including Disney and NFL-themed room collections in the attached Rooms To Go Kids — is available for next-day delivery, Raymond said.

Rooms To Go executives were joined at their grand opening by representatives of several area charities supported by the company, including DePelchin Children’s Center, the Houston Chronicle’s Goodfellows program and the Houston Texans Foundation.

Charities attend

Representing DePelchin was Curtis Mooney, the agency’s chief executive officer. Jack Sweeney, publisher of the Houston Chronicle, represented the Goodfellows program.

Mooney said, Rooms to Go has "assisted us on many occasions as we work to enrich the lives of children and families in Houston."

Mayors of Brookshire and Katy also attended the grand opening, and are happy the project ended up within shopping distance, if not in the city limits of either.

"We’re very excited," said Mayor Joey Vaughn of Brookshire, a few miles to the west. "No 1, it’s going to bring some jobs for our citizens. Plus, they can stop in for gas, stop in for food. So that’s going to bring us some sales tax dollars."

Vaughn noted one apartment developer is building a complex in Brookshire, specifically because of Rooms To Go. "That was his main focus — the main reason he wanted to bring that development to the city of Brookshire."

To the east, Katy Mayor Don Elder said he wished his town could have accommodated the project, but he expects his residents to benefit all the same.

"When you come out of Rooms To Go, you could go to the mall, which would be a definite impact to the city of Katy. And it does mean a possibility for a lot of people from our community who need and want jobs to have an opportunity to work out there."

The Rooms To Go as well as Rooms To Go Kids/Teens are open. A Rooms To Go Clearance Center and Distribution Center will open soon.

For more information, visit the Web site at www.roomstogo.com.