Tucked beneath the shiny glass towers and luxury apartments that define Charlotte’s South End neighborhood sits a squat, brick building that’s easy to miss.
While most of the breweries and boutiques around it are new, this business is nearly a century old, and you could say that in some sense, it’s a literal dream factory.
"I mean we have survived the Depression, world wars, a pandemic, economy swings. There’s a lot that Dilworth Mattress has gone through over the years," said Scott Hirsch. He's the comparatively new owner of the Dilworth Mattress Factory on West Worthington Avenue.
His family has kept the business going for four generations — a rarity among businesses large and small.
On a recent tour of the shop's small showroom, Hirsch to a collection of black-and-white photos hanging on the wall and pointed to one showing a man in a wool suit with rimless glasses.
"So that’s my great-grandfather that started it," he said.
His name was Thomas Philbeck, and he founded the business in 1931.
"And this is really the first time that’s been displayed in our showroom, because my uncle, when we were cleaning out some stuff, found these old, black-and-white pictures, and I had them blown up the best we could," Hirsch said.
Springing through the years
The shop initially began as a mattress repair store two streets over on Tremont Avenue.
Over the years, Hirsch’s family began assembling the mattresses themselves, at one point opening eight locations around the city, and earning a reputation among people looking for something more bespoke than you might find at a national chain.
"We have made (mattresses for) famous wrestlers, bank executives. I mean, really, it’s like the who’s who of Charlotte," Hirsch said.
They’ve made extra-large mattresses for extra-large athletes and a five-sided mattress for a yacht. They’ve sent mattresses to hotels and hospitals, and made custom beds for trucks and RVs. In addition, they’ve made countless ordinary mattresses over the decades for people to sleep, relax or jump on.
Hirsch himself worked in the factory in 1986 when he was 16. He remembers the store selling waterbeds at the time alongside the traditional types.
"I can’t tell you it was one of my favorite jobs," he said. "I mean it was 115 degrees in the warehouse. I was constantly looking for things to do in the office, which was air-conditioned."
Now, almost 40 years later, Hirsch can spend as much time in the office as he likes, after he and his wife took over the business from Hirsch’s uncle in June.
"We were a little bit hesitant, just because we didn’t know what we were getting in," he said.
Carrying on the dream
In a world of high-tech manufacturing, 3-D printing and imported, near-disposable furniture, the Dilworth Mattress Factory still makes each mattress to order.
WFAE wants to hear from you! Amid all the conflict in the world, what activities are bringing you joy, comfort or happiness? Find out how to share your story with WFAE by clicking here.
The back of the shop is simple. Mattress springs and rolls of foam lean up against cinder block walls. On one side, there’s an antique-looking sewing machine for mattresses that an employee jokes looks a little fantastical.
"Literally belongs in Rumpelstiltskin," he said.
Hirsch feels the weight that comes with inheriting a 92-year-old family business, and the responsibility of keeping it going.
They now have one location after the others closed following the 2008 crisis. But Hirsch said he’s grown to love it, and the work has brought him closer to his family, especially his uncle and wife.
"I mean it’s ours. I love being here. I love sitting in here, even when there’s no customers, I’ll do some work, and, you know, it is the pride. I love telling people that my family has been making these mattresses for 90-something years," he said.
Turns out he doesn’t have to go to sleep to carry on that dream.
