Home Valu Interiors -- the home remodeling retailer that built the fortune and public persona of businessman and former U.S. Sen. Rudy Boschwitz -- is closing its doors for good.
The chain has operated as Home Valu since 1993. But it may be best known by its original name, Plywood Minnesota, because of the TV commercials that became part of the state's popular culture. Boschwitz, clad in plaid flannel shirts, always ended the spots with a signature catchphrase: "Our best shot all the time."
Boschwitz said Monday that his company will spend the next several months liquidating its inventory at its store in Fridley, where the retailer is based. The company had nine stores in the Midwest until last month, when it closed or sold four outlets, including one in Inver Grove Heights. In addition to Fridley, its five remaining stores include outlets in Bloomington and Minnetonka.
All but about 30 of 150 employees will lose their jobs this week as result of the shutdown, Boschwitz said. The remaining employees will help oversee the liquidation sale.
Boschwitz, who founded the business with his wife, Ellen, turned the company over to other family members after he was elected to the Senate in 1978. He returned to help run it after losing his Senate seat to Paul Wellstone in 1990.