image description — Solomon's Furniture has reopened in the Lee Premium Outlets after a three-year absence.

Solomon's Furniture Reopens in Lee Outlets

By Brittany PolitoiBerkshires Staff
01:08AM / Monday, February 08, 2021Print Story | Email Story

Owner James Solomon says the Ashley Furniture brand has been a big seller since the store opened.

LEE, Mass. — A familiar name in furniture sales has come back into the business with a new location.

Solomon's Furniture is returning to the Berkshires at the Lee Premium Outlets. Owner James Solomon now has two retail establishments in the outlets: DJ's Gifts and Solomon's Furniture, and is optimistic about business in his new location.

Since closing his retail space in the now-abandoned segment of the Berkshire Mall in 2018, Solomon had been looking for a new spot for his furniture store. Nearly three years later, he was able to secure the storefront that formerly housed Dress Barn and has been vacant for a couple of years.

Solomon started off his business in 2008 at the corner of Merrill Road and Plastics Avenue. In 2010, the store moved to the mall in Lanesborough for about eight years. The closing came right after Sears closed its doors for good, making him one of the last tenants on the south end that mall.

He opened the gift shop two years later as a seasonal pop-up store in the mall and then moved it to a permanent spot at the Lee Outlets. Because of its success, DJ's just signed a lease for another year.

Solomon said he is excited to reopen his furniture business in the outlets because of the foot traffic it receives, though he misses his store in the mall because of its large size. The outlet's location is about third the size of Solomon's location in the mall.

On Jan. 29, the window coverings that surrounded the empty retail store were removed and Solomon was officially in business. He plans to have a grand opening on Presidents Day, when he will unveil a showroom chuck-full of home furnishings.

"So far, it has been good," Solomon said. "I have a ton of stuff coming up, that's what I'm waiting for and that's when I want to start advertising."

Solomon's Furniture will operate with two delivery people, a retail seller, and Solomon himself.

He said he has had the most success in selling mattresses and Ashley Furniture to Berkshire residents and looks forward to selling more.

"Mattresses I've sold the most of," he said. "Brandwise, Ashley Furniture is my biggest vendor, therapeutic mattresses are my biggest mattress company."

Tags: furniture, store opening,

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Great Barrington Public Theater Appoints Artistic Director

09:57AM / Monday, December 29, 2025

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass. — Great Barrington Public Theater announced that Associate Artistic Director Judy Braha will now join Jim Frangione at the helm as Artistic Director of Great Barrington Public Theater.

"We at Great Barrington Public Theater are thrilled that Judy Braha will assume the role of Artistic Director alongside myself. I couldn't have asked for a better partner to help advance the interests of the theater as we move into the next phase of growth as the region's premiere developmental theater," Founder & Artistic Director Jim Frangione said. "Judy brings a tremendous amount of experience and value to our company and has, in just a few short years, grown and greatly enhanced GB Public Theater's signature program, Berkshires Voices, where playwrights develop their work, leading to public readings and in some cases workshops and full productions. I look forward to working more closely with Judy to select the next generation of plays to be presented under the GB Public banner. It's a "Bear" of a job! But we feel great about the direction of our theater."

Judy Braha joined the GB Public artistic leadership team in 2023 as the Associate Artistic Director after 2 years directing for the company. She has since then been collaborating with Founder and Artistic Director Jim Frangione on the selection of new work for readings and full productions in the summer season. Her impressive portfolio of credits and accomplishments strengthened Great Barrington Public's creative programming and offered new perspectives to the body of works and events produced each year.

Judy Braha has been a career director, actor, teacher and artist for social justice for over four decades with directorial credits in theaters and universities throughout New England. She led the M.F.A. Directing Program at Boston University's School of Theater, retiring in 2022 after 29 years of service at BU.

"Judy has the strength of commitment, leadership and passion for theater and how it affects communities that fit hand-in-glove with our founding mission and core beliefs," Founder and Producing Director Deann Halper Simmons explains. "Her artistic integrity, sense of stage esthetic and ability to make important choices that craft life from the script continues to be a great asset to our company and growth."

"Judy's distinguished artistic voice has significantly contributed to the exceptional growth of GB Public in recent years," Managing Director Serena Johnson added. "We are truly excited to have her stepping into this leadership role in the 2026 season."

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