Mattress store keeps products local

When Chris Rigterink was 19 years old, he got a job manufacturing mattresses with Capitol Bedding in Lansing. Fifteen years later, he owns The Mattress Source in East Lansing, 2650 E. Grand River Ave., Suite D, which exclusively sells Capitol Bedding mattresses and opened in 1997.

“One of the reasons we’ve been able to sustain over 10 years is that many people are real loyal to the fact that (Capitol Bedding) products are made right here in Lansing,” Rigterink said.

There is another Mattress Source store, 6323 W. Saginaw Highway, Suite A, in Lansing, which is near the Lansing Mall and opened three years prior to Rigterink’s store in 1994. Rigterink, who worked for Capitol Bedding at that time, began talking with Mattress Source owner Brian Wallace about opening another location in East Lansing.

“When I worked (at Capitol Bedding), I got in touch with Brian and we decided to open a location in East Lansing together,” Rigterink said.

Wallace runs the store in Lansing while Rigterink is the owner of the East Lansing store.

The biggest selling point to customers is that their products from Capitol Bedding are made locally.

“Many of the materials (that Capitol Bedding uses) are purchased from the same places as the big brands,” Rigterink said. “We’ve found that you can get a little more for your money.”

Rigterink knows that Capitol Bedding mattresses are quality beds because he has the experience of building them himself.

“It’s something that I really believe in because I’ve built the beds through the years and worked for the manufacturer,” he said.

The busiest time of the year for The Mattress Source is when students move in.

“Certainly, we get a bump in August,” Rigterink said. “We do quite a bit of business with the student population.”

Students can get discounts such as free delivery. In August, the mattresses are delivered all over campus so there is usually no delivery charge as long as the student doesn’t need it at a specific time, Rigterink said.

The store also sells futons, whose mattresses are made in the Midwest.

The Mattress Source often hires students because the employees can fit work around their school schedules.

“The job is really flexible in terms of hours,” Rigterink said.

Telecommunication, information studies and media senior Taylor Smith is the manager and has worked at The Mattress Source in East Lansing since late July and loves the flexible schedule.

“Having a boss that works around my class schedule, which (Rigterink) is really good about, is the easiest thing,” she said. “I can do homework when I don’t have customers.”

The store also employs students as delivery truck drivers.

“I think at the end of the day it comes down to having a good location and having a good value for a product that is built in town,” Rigterink said.