OMAHA, Neb. (KOLN) — Nebraska Furniture Mart (NFM), a family-run enterprise rooted in the motto “Sell cheap and tell the truth,” traces its origins to its founder, Rose Blumkin. Known affectionately as Mrs. B, she instilled a legacy that continues to shape the company today.
“Her priorities were clear from the start,” said Ron Blumkin, NFM vice chairman and Mrs. B’s grandson. “First came NFM, then the country, and finally her family—in that order, no apologies.”
In 1986, the Today Show spotlighted this 4’9” dynamo, who escaped Russia in 1917 aboard a peanut boat. “The communists and the elite only agreed on one thing: their disdain for Jews,” Ron explained. “She knew it was time to leave.” To board the ship, she bribed a Russian officer with a promise of vodka from America—a promise she jokingly claimed he was still waiting for.
After arriving in Seattle, a settlement group relocated Rose and her husband, Isadore, to a small Iowa town. “The community welcomed her warmly, but no one spoke Russian or Yiddish, her only languages,” Ron said. Eventually, the couple settled in Omaha, where Isadore ran a pawn shop as a jeweler.
Frustrated by constant complaints about the Great Depression, Mrs. B decided to take matters into her own hands.
Using skills honed as a teenager managing a small business in Russia, she began sourcing furniture from Chicago wholesalers, marking items up by 10% for a modest profit. “Omaha had big department stores, but she thought they were overcharging,” Ron said. In 1937, she launched her furniture business from the basement of her husband’s pawn shop, later expanding to appliances and electronics in the 1950s.
NFM weathered challenges, including a fire and a destructive 1975 tornado, adapting and growing through adversity. In 1983, Mrs. B sold a majority stake to Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway for $60 million. She worked until age 103—NFM’s official retirement age—earning the nickname “czarina of the Midwest” from the Today Show.
“She’d point that crooked finger at us and say, ‘I’m smart, and you’re lucky,’” Ron recalled. “Smart for coming to America, and lucky for being born here. Then she’d pass out ‘God Bless America’ song sheets, and we’d sing.”
Mrs. B passed away in 1989, but her presence lingers—through commercials, memories of her zipping around on a scooter at Mrs. B’s Clearance and Outlet Factory, and the five generations of family still involved. “Her grandson handles PR, her granddaughter hosts a podcast here,” said Megan Berry Barlow, Chief Human Resources Officer. “She’s more than a figurehead.”
AJ Shefsky, Mrs. B’s great-great-grandson, recalls working Black Friday as an 8-year-old greeter. Now studying finance at the University of Arizona, he follows family tradition: gain outside experience before returning to NFM. “After graduation, I’ll build skills elsewhere,” he said. “If I can add value later, I’d consider coming back.”
Today, NFM operates five stores across Nebraska, Kansas, Iowa, and Texas, reflecting Mrs. B’s values. The company’s Women Lead program empowers women in business, inspired by her example. “Women drive most home furnishing decisions,” Berry Barlow noted. “When we foster authentic growth, there’s no limit to what’s possible.”
To celebrate Women’s History Month, NFM hosts “Celebrate Women: A Panel of Empowering Voices” on March 30 at 9 a.m. at Mrs. B’s Clearance and Outlet Store. Tickets support Girls Inc., featuring women leaders from various fields.
