By Lea Kahn, Staff Writer
With a gentle push on the shovel Tuesday afternoon, Debbie Schaeffer and Darren Braunstein broke ground for the renovation to the Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings building to accommodate Mrs. G TV and Appliances.
Mrs. G TV & Appliance moved into temporary quarters in another part of the Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings building at 2720 Brunswick Pike — across the street from the Mercer County Branch of the Mercer County Library System — in April. The groundbreaking ceremony this week marks the start of construction work on Mrs. G’s permanent home.
"I’m very excited," Ms. Schaeffer said. She is the president and chief executive officer of Mrs. G TV and Appliances, which was started by her grandmother, Beatrice Greenberg, in 1935. The business opened its doors in Trenton, but has moved several times.
The landmark appliance store relocated to the Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings building because its former location — on the corner of Brunswick Pike and Bakers Basin Road — is being redeveloped.
The 16-acre site that housed the former Mrs. G TV and Appliances store is being redeveloped to accommodate a fast-food restaurant, a convenience store with gas pumps, a bank and retail spaces — including one that was earmarked for the appliances store.
The initial plan called for the store to be temporarily relocated to the store’s warehouse on Eggerts Crossing Road while the redevelopment project was under way, but it was decided to find a permanent home for the business. Ms. Schaeffer jumped at the chance to move into Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings’ building.
Now that all the necessary construction permits have been issued, work on Mrs. G TV and Appliances’ permanent home — which calls for a 12,000-square-foot showroom and a 12,000-square-foot warehouse — is expected to begin in the next week or two. Work should be completed by late fall.
Mr. Braunstein, who is the executive vice president and chief operating officer of Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings, said he was also excited about the project. The two businesses are "complementary", he said.
"It’s going to be nice to have us operating out of the same building," Mr. Braunstein said. "We want to get Mrs. G TV and Appliances into the new space as soon as we can."
At the ribbon-cutting in April to announce Mrs. G TV and Appliances’ move to its temporary location, Ms. Schaeffer said the Worldwide Wholesale Floor Coverings’ building will be "a home improvement hub." Consumers can choose flooring and related decorative items, and then walk over to the appliance store to pick out appliances, electronics and even mattresses from its Serta sleep center.
The move, combined with the changes planned for the old Mrs. G’s site, will revitalize the Business Route 1 corridor and encourage local shopping and support among Lawrence businessmen, Ms. Schaeffer said at that time.
Meanwhile, most of the buildings on the former Mrs. G TV and Appliance property have been demolished. The only building that is still standing is the one that housed the appliance store and it, too, will soon be torn down.

