Get to Know One of South End's Oldest Businesses
Founded in 1931, Dilworth Mattress Factory is one of South End’s oldest standing businesses! Thomas Philbeck founded what was originally a mattress repair shop to provide an alternative to buying a new mattress during The Great Depression. Philbeck would pick the mattresses up from his clients and refurbish them by sterilizing them, reworking the cotton, adding new springs, and covering them. In less than 24 hours, Philbeck would deliver the mattress back to the client practically good as new.
It wasn’t until the early 1970s that Dilworth Mattress Factory began to sell new mattresses. Each mattress was built by hand to the preference of the customer. Both then and now, Dilworth Mattress Factory builds each mattress individually by hand, though they have continued to evolve to keep up with technology. Today, the mattresses are more customizable, and you can even request a mattress that’s softer on one side and firmer on the other.
Since the company’s conception in 1931, the business has been passed down through generations of Philbeck’s family. Most recently, Scott and Dori Hirsch have taken the reins from Scott’s uncle and aunt, Alan and Debbie Hirsch, who led the factory and showroom for the past 50 years.
Today, Scott is most proud of the reputation and legacy the company has created. It’s not uncommon for a customer to tell Scott that they have been sleeping on a Dilworth mattress for their whole life. Scott says that one of the neatest things is hearing from families who want to continue the tradition of their children and grandchildren sleeping on a Dilworth mattress.
Want to know a fun fact? Aside from building their own mattresses in-house, Dilworth Mattress Factory is currently the ONLY store in the Queen City to sell Hypnos mattresses which hold the Royal Warrant. This means that Hypnos mattresses are approved to provide services to the Royal Family. So, you can sleep like royalty thanks to Dilworth Mattress Factory.