Modern Day General Store
(excerpts from the Salina Journal, 7/26/02)

Like the general stores of the Old West, C.S. Post & Co. carries a little bit of everything.

Strolling down the store's numerous aisles, modern-day settlers can pick up kitchen and bath products, gourmet coffees, teas and oils, candles, soaps and body powders, baby shampoo and sunscreen, picture frames and mirrors, pet care and garden accessories, and a wide array of rings, necklaces and bracelets.

The store also has customized furniture designed by co-owner Chuck Comeau.  These chairs, benches, tables, ottomans, and sofas are displayed in showrooms across the nation under the names Dessin Fournir, Classic Cloth, Gerard and Palmer Hargrave.  He also creates upholstery fabric from organic linens, hemp and cotton, with several color hues inspired by Kansas fields and grasslands.

There even is a store within the store: At the rear of C.S. Post is a flower shop call Regeena's, which offers unique floral creations by store manager  Norman Keller, a graduate of the renowned American Institute of Floral Designers in Baltimore.

There's no other place around here that carries this kind of merchandise," said Hays resident Audrey Herold, a regular shopper at the store, located in downtown Hays.  "It's a great place to go for gifts.  If you went to Wal-Mart, people might buy duplicate gifts.  Here, everything's one-of-a-kind."

The wide selection of unique products, combined with the nostalgic atmosphere of an old-time general store, was what Chuck Comeau and his wife, Shirley, envisioned when they opened C.S.Post in September 1997.  The also own the Pineapple Post in Plainville, a smaller store that specialized in picture frames, mirrors and collectibles.

"There are stores out there that specialize in garden or kitchen items, and we don't want to compete with them," Shirley Comeau said. "We try to offer fun things that not only are unique but high quality, too."

The store's inventory of products, furniture and fabrics can be viewed and purchased online at www.cspost.com.

Furniture Business

The success of the Comeau's furniture business has enabled the couple to expand their retail operation.  Chuck Comeau's designs are crafted at the Hays Planing Mill, which has been in operation close to 100 years, Shirley Comeau said.

The headquarters of Dessin Fournir is in Plainville, but they sell and ship furniture to interior designers and homeowners all over the U.S.  "We also get a lot of input from local retail customers about what kind of furniture they like, and sometimes we'll alter designs because of that."

A number of pieces have been named after small Kansas towns, including a Quinter tray, a Wallace chair, a Rexford table, a Washington sofa, and Osborne banquette and a Zurich mirror.  "We named them after Kansas towns because we like living in rural Kansas--our roots are here, and this is our way to connect our products to points of interest in the state," Shirley Comeau said.

Family Business

Although the Comeaus would like to open another C.S. Post store, perhaps in Wichita or even Los Angeles, they are determined it will remain a family operation.  After all the "C" in C.S. Post stands for Chuck and "S" is for Shirley.  "We can't be all things to all people, but we try to be as diverse as we can,"  Shirley Comeau said.  "It's always a fun, ever-changing business."

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