For nearly 38 years, Bob and Dale Mayerfeld have successfully run Table Talk, the popular home-specialty store known for its unique kitchen gadgets, rustic hardwood furniture and regional pieces, at various locations around Tucson.
But due to Bob’s health, the couple has decided it’s time to retire. They said they are in negotiations with a longtime employee “who will carry on the Table Talk name.” The Mayerfelds will no longer be involved in the business once the deal is completed.
“I have been fighting for a long time with an immune deficiency disease,” Bob said. “My energy levels are just gone.”
What were advertised as “pre-inventory” sales via Facebook and the store’s website have turned out to be liquidation sales in preparation for the change.
The Mayerfelds have liquidated and consolidated the inventory of the Broadway-Pantano and Tanque Verde stores and transferred what’s left to the only remaining store, at 7876 N. Oracle Road.
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The Oracle store will stay open under the new owner.
Retail in their blood
Table Talk got its start in June 1976. The couple had retail in their blood, Bob Mayerfeld said. His first job out of grad school was in the “china, crystal, silver” buying office of Neiman Marcus in Dallas. “When working with the great people at Neiman’s, the chemistry is in your blood,” Bob said.
From there, the couple decided to move to Tucson to open their own store. Table Talk was born at Broadway Village at East Broadway and North Country Club Road.
Just a few years later, in 1979, the duo opened their second store, at 6842 E. Tanque Verde Road. The Tanque Verde store was Table Talk’s longest location and remained open until a week ago.
Learning from others in the retail business was important to the Mayerfelds. “One of the first friends I met in Tucson was Leon Levy, founder of (the former, Tucson-based) Levy’s Department Store,” Bob recalled. “He used to stand in the front of the store and greet everybody and shake everybody’s hands. When he was alive, he gave us great advice and was a great friend to have. I can still see him shaking everybody’s hands.”
In the 1980s, Table Talk expanded again and opened a store in the Foothills Mall. “We were one of the original tenants,” Dale Mayerfeld said. “So at that time, we had three locations.”
After a 10-year run at the Foothills Mall, Table Talk moved its third store to the Tucson Mall, and then to Casas Adobes Plaza, until finally settling down at its 7876 N. Oracle Road location.
During that time, the Mayerfelds also operated two stores in Phoenix for 10 years, giving them a total of five stores open at one time.
After the 10-year leases were up in Phoenix, the Mayerfelds stuck to the Tucson market. They opened another store at East Broadway and North Pantano Road in 2006, and closed their first store at Broadway Village a few years later.
Competition from Web
The state of the brick-and-mortar retail industry hasn’t made it easy to keep going. The store’s biggest competition hasn’t been chain retailers such as Williams-Sonoma or Crate and Barrel moving into Tucson, though.
“The truth is, what’s affecting things and the change in the retail climate is the Internet,” Bob said. “The big player isn’t anybody in particular. It’s the Internet, not the big-name stores.”
Monica Hay Cook, co-owner of Deco, 2612 E. Broadway, said she has always loved shopping at Table Talk, especially when it was located at Broadway Village, near her shop. She particularly likes the selection of glassware and mesquite tables.
As a business owner, Hay Cook has noticed that there aren’t as many local shops left. “Probably, in part because of people shopping more online,” she said. “I’ve always shopped the locally owned stores in Tucson because I like unusual items and love the local flavor you get in the individually owned stores.”
Although 80 percent to 85 percent of total retail sales still come from physical stores, the Internet is a competitor to all brick-and-mortar stores, whether they are big-name retail chains or small, local specialty stores, said Mary Ann Eastlick, associate professor of retailing and consumer sciences at the University of Arizona.
“Local retail stores still play a major role in the overall retail environment in the United States and in individual communities,” Eastlick said. “In my opinion, they need to compete with both the large, national chains and the Internet retailers by staying close to their customer and truly understanding their needs and wants.”
Even with the online competition, Table Talk pressed on. “We’ve been hanging on and doing what we need to do, but it’s been very tough,” Dale Mayerfeld said. “We had a wonderful run for a long, long time, but the last six years or so have been tough. And very tough on Bob, physically. He just can’t keep up anymore. ... So we’re excited about this prospect, and we’re doing everything we can to see it work.”
The new owner plans to put in new and different merchandise. “Part of the process is liquidating what we have, including the fixtures, so they can put their own spin on it,” Bob said.
Seen families grow up
Having been around for so long, Table Talk has gotten to see families grow up. They’ve seen the children and grandchildren of original bridal customers sign up for the bridal registry. “It’s been an emotional thing because we have been here for such a long time and it’s been tremendously appreciated,” Bob said.
Some of Bob’s favorite customers have been well-known Tucsonans. “Linda Ronstadt was a phenomenal customer ... an awesome lady,” he recalled. “The wonderful Lee Marvin — he drove the worst cars. And the most unbelievably jolly guy was Fred Kelly, the brother of Gene Kelly. He used to come in the store and tap dance. He was awesome.”
Saying goodbye to staff members is hard for Bob and Dale, as well. “It’s not only the wonderful customers, but the people who have worked with us for 20, 25, 30 and more years,” Dale said. “It’s been a wonderful, wonderful run, and it’s very hard.”
When all is said and done, the couple plan to spend time with their two children and four grandchildren. “The first thing I’m personally going to do is get my body back in shape,” Bob said. “Then spend time with my grandkids.
“There’s something infectious about the retail business. For me, it’s seven days a week,” he added. “It’s wonderful, but it’s time to take some time off and spend it with the grandchildren.”
