HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) — Not a lot has changed at Burke’s Upholstery since it opened in 1953. The team still specializes in custom-built furniture and reupholstery. You can also run into Billie Smith.
Billie told us she first joined the shop in 1953 to help her brother, the owner, Johnny.
“I did all the outside sales, carried the books and everything,” Billie remembers. “I always had a place here because of my brother’s business. I would come in and out until I finally decided that I was going to stay here all the time.”
A third generation is now running Burke’s Upholstery, Victoria, and Charles Long. They say Billie is the heart of the business.
“Never a dull moment,” Victoria shared. “She keeps everyone smiling, and customers love to come in and see her all the time.”
“Billie is a spitfire. She outworks all of us,” Charles said. “Anytime I start thinking that I just don’t feel like doing it today, I think about Billie, because it doesn’t matter if she’s mad or she’s sad, she pulls herself by her bootstraps and gets it done.”
In the video above, see her family come together to celebrate her 94th birthday, and hear why Billie is not ready to retire.
Burke’s Upholstery is located at 15202-A Kuykendahl Road in Houston. You can follow the business on Facebook.
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