At a time when the furniture industry is struggling, a downtown Augusta business chose to get bigger.

Merry's Trash and Treasures, 1236 Broad St., added another building on the block to its showroom space. The two-story, 16,000-square-foot expansion opens today.

"We need more showroom. Our business is growing," said owner Bill Merry.

Merry's Trash and Treasures now occupies 40,000 square feet in the combined buildings.

"Augusta has been very good to us, so we're continuing to invest here locally," said Brad Merry, his son.

A down economy is the best time to grow, he explained, because furniture makers are interested in moving merchandise.

"Buying can be better; therefore, we can offer it at a lower price," Brad Merry said.

The business has 10 employees, but that might grow to accommodate the additional space, Brad Merry said.

The company bought the building at the corner of 12th and Broad streets in June and finished the renovations Thursday. The previous occupant was also a furniture store.

Merry's Trash and Treasures started in 1962. The Merrys will use the new building to show more of the same traditional-style furniture, although there is more room to show upholstered lines.

"People have been trying to get me out into shopping centers and all, but I grew up on Broad Street. This business has grown on Broad Street. We've never been anywhere else and won't be anywhere else," Bill Merry said. "Downtown is coming back."

Reach Tim Rausch at (706) 823-3352 or timothy.rausch@augustachronicle.com.