An Introduction... Really.

My family has owned and operated UFS for the past 30 years. As a third generation retailer, I am proud to bring you The Real Deal-- the online guide to UFS.

Some Peorians still think of us as the Unclaimed Freight Store. You see, back in the 1940's the original owner would go down to the freight yards where they had misc. freight no one had claimed. He would pay pennies on the dollar for the merchandise and sell it to locals for incredibly low prices. So he might have cases of cans without any labels-- you could be eating peaches or you could be eating peas... At five cents a can though, customers were willing to take the risk! This idea grew into a business he called "Unclaimed Freight Store".

As the business grew he moved into a building to store and sell his goods. In 1967 Unclaimed Freight Store built a store on SW Adams Street. My grandfather, Mitchell Serafin, was hired as general manager and the business thrived on what was then the south part of downtown Peoria. My grandfather bought a share of the business from one of two brothers, and then in 1985 he bought the remaining interest from the other brother. Today my uncle, Pierre, and my father, Tom Wiegand, are in charge!

In 2003 we invested over $2,000,000.00 to develop the area across the street from our main store. The new store was opened as an Ashley Furniture Home Store. In 2007 we decided to part ways with the Ashley Company and that building is now the UFS Furniture and Mattress Outlet managed by my mother, Claire Wiegand. This building houses not only furniture and mattresses but also appliances and cabinets.I'm here to bring you the latest news and best deals UFS has to offer! Come back soon or visit our website now!