Houston's 'Mattress Mack' opens furniture-filled stores to flood victims

HOUSTON – A Houston furniture store owner is being praised after he decided to open his doors to those displaced by Tropical Storm Harvey.

Jim "Mattress Mack" McIngvale opened up two of his showrooms to shelter some of the tens of thousands of people whose homes are now under water.

"We've got lots of beds. We've got lots of food. We've got water and you can even bring your animals," McIngvale said in a Facebook video Sunday. He even gave out his personal cellphone number and told people, "If you need something, call and we'll try to get you whatever help we can."

Mattress Mack's Twitter photos show dozens of people resting on the display furniture with the message, "If you can safely join us, we invite you for shelter and food. God Bless."

On Sunday, the furniture chain posted on Facebook that they were using their biggest trucks to rescue people stranded by the floods.

Of the two stores, Gallery Furniture Grand Parkway is the newest and largest Mattress Mack store in the Houston area – the warehouse has more than 100,000 square feet of space, according to its website.

After hitting capacity in both stores Monday, McIngvale posted on Facebook Tuesday evening that space had opened up at the Grand Parkway location.

The expansive store is home to tropical birds, exotic animals and a 30,000-gallon aquarium. They also have a partnership with a local nonprofit to have an onsite greenhouse and gift shop that provides jobs for hard-working adults with special needs.

This isn’t the first time the Houston retailer has taken in victims of natural disasters, according to KIAH. His stores also provided shelter for Hurricane Katrina victims in 2005.