An anchor store on Main Street Tomball for 19 years, Otto's Emporium has an 8,000-square-foot showroom of furniture. In addition to a large selection of imported items, the store offers an array of locally made goods, such as farmhouse tables and benches, large wood cabinets, cowhide table runners and saddle lamps.

Earl Otto Leppin opened the store after retiring in 1994. He started off selling antiques, but he soon switched to furniture after discovering antiques were not the best selling items.

"There were only five shops [in downtown Tomball] when I opened," he said. "Then it quickly went to 50. From what I know, I'm the longest survivor."

Some of the biggest sellers are the farmhouse tables and benches made locally. The reclaimed wood pieces, including benches, cabinets and mirrors, have also proven to be popular.

"Business is consistent," said Leppin, a Magnolia resident. "We've stayed in the same place and established ourselves early on. We're not like any other store around."

The store offers a large selection of cowhides from Brazil. Otto's employee, Debbie Shaw, makes some of the cowhides into table runners and sells them there as well.

Leppin expanded his store two years ago, doubling the space of his showroom. The expansion allowed him to stock twice as much as he was previously able to and brought in a lot more customers.

"When we first opened, we sold some items in their cartons," Shaw said. "We didn't even have time to unpack before customers came."

Otto's Emporium has a lot of regular customers and many customers from various cities around Houston, including Kingwood, Cypress, The Woodlands, Conroe and Katy, Leppin said.

"There are a lot of big houses around here with big empty rooms, and we have large pieces to fill them," he said.

In addition to the locally made items, Leppin sells furniture imported from Indonesia, India, China and Mexico, including large wood dining room tables, he said.

Leppin's sister Letha Grahmann sells Texas-themed rustic items and metal decorative items at the store, including a large variety of metal crosses.

"Business has been good since we've started," Leppin said. "We don't get rich by any means, but it's always been good. We have a lot of good clientele, decorators, regulars. We offer reasonable, competitive prices."

Locally made items:

• Cowhide table runners ($149–$159)
• Saddle lamps ($345)
• Farmhouse tables ($525–$695)
• Farmhouse benches ($110–$185)
• Metal crosses

Customer Favorites:

• Dining tables from Mexico
• Reclaimed wood pieces
• Benches
• Mirrors
• Night stands
• Coffee tables
• Armoirs
• Dresser

Otto's Emporium

410 W. Main St.

Tomball 281-351-9394

www.ottosemporium.net

Hours: Mon.–Sat. 10 a.m.–5:30 p.m.

Sun. 12 p.m.–5:30 p.m.