3061.
A while ago we wondered where the ex-Mr. Mattress World, Jon Hiner, had gotten off to. Locals will remember the buzz when he'd suddenly disappeared, rumors of a contentious divorce, and suddenly Sherri Hiner was helming the Mattress World starship until, for a brief time in PDX, it was suddenly too late to sleep like a baby.
Mattress World, it will be recalled, collapsed when the state of Washington came after it for $1.7 Megabucks in sales taxes that Washington said it should have been collecting but didn't. All but two MW stores (which happened to be franchises) closed, a bunch of people were out of work and late-night and daytime Portland TV was devoid of the chirpy "if you find it at a better price somewhere else, the mattress is free!" reminder.
Still, in this day and age, to really be a celebrity in Portland, it takes an earnest business sense and charmingly cheesy commercials. Come to that, Mattress World is back in a way … Sherri's visage once again graces the commercials of Mattress World Northwest.
More power to her, we say.
Since Jon wasn't with the company (we presume) when it folded, probably out of the market due to some non-compete agreement, he (also presumably) was spared the debris shroud of that blowup. We found that, indeed, in 2012, he had reëestablished himself as Sleep World, in the mattress store ghetto near SE 82nd Ave and King Road, in what we now call Happy Valley for some reason, occupying a building that was formerly not only a Schucks Auto Supply but also a Parker Paint store. He'd even started his own house brand and all.
In the interim, he'd removed from that area and settled into digs in the L-shaped building in the acute angle of SE Holgate Blvd and Foster Rd, which was a Videoland (remember video-rental stores? Hah?) and now hosts a 7 Eleven store.
Latterly, though, we've been by that intersection … and now Sleep World is gone. And it's website's address is up for grabs. Not quite sure when this happened, but Jon Hiner has dropped from Portland's commercial landscape once again.
For a while, too, also, the website WhereIsJonHiner.com was still active, though.
No longer.
Sic transit gloria mattress seller.
Good night, Jon Hiner … where ever you are.
Mattress World, it will be recalled, collapsed when the state of Washington came after it for $1.7 Megabucks in sales taxes that Washington said it should have been collecting but didn't. All but two MW stores (which happened to be franchises) closed, a bunch of people were out of work and late-night and daytime Portland TV was devoid of the chirpy "if you find it at a better price somewhere else, the mattress is free!" reminder.
Still, in this day and age, to really be a celebrity in Portland, it takes an earnest business sense and charmingly cheesy commercials. Come to that, Mattress World is back in a way … Sherri's visage once again graces the commercials of Mattress World Northwest.
More power to her, we say.
Since Jon wasn't with the company (we presume) when it folded, probably out of the market due to some non-compete agreement, he (also presumably) was spared the debris shroud of that blowup. We found that, indeed, in 2012, he had reëestablished himself as Sleep World, in the mattress store ghetto near SE 82nd Ave and King Road, in what we now call Happy Valley for some reason, occupying a building that was formerly not only a Schucks Auto Supply but also a Parker Paint store. He'd even started his own house brand and all.
In the interim, he'd removed from that area and settled into digs in the L-shaped building in the acute angle of SE Holgate Blvd and Foster Rd, which was a Videoland (remember video-rental stores? Hah?) and now hosts a 7 Eleven store.
Latterly, though, we've been by that intersection … and now Sleep World is gone. And it's website's address is up for grabs. Not quite sure when this happened, but Jon Hiner has dropped from Portland's commercial landscape once again.
For a while, too, also, the website WhereIsJonHiner.com was still active, though.
No longer.
Sic transit gloria mattress seller.
Good night, Jon Hiner … where ever you are.
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