Jabs is owner of American Furniture Warehouse and is one of the most identifiable personalities in Colorado because of his frequent TV commercial in which he appears on screen with Bengal tigers. Jabs has opened a 635,000-sf facility in the ComPark development off the E-470 toll road and Peoria Street in northern Douglas County, southeast of Denver. Opus Northwest is the developer for the $23-million complex at ComPark, an undertaking of Denver developer Michael Vickers.

Jabs says his warehouse and store is even larger than stores owned by huge furniture retailers such as IKEA and the Great Indoors. The showroom spans 121,700 sf and includes a house decorated with designer furniture. The 433,100-sf warehouse includes loading docks where customers can receive furniture directly from the storeroom. The facility employs 400 workers. Jabs says customers come not only from Colorado, but also from Wyoming, Missouri, New Mexico and Arizona.

The nine-store American Furniture Warehouse chain boasts revenues of about $275 million annually, Jabs says, which translates to $30.5 million per store. The new store expects annul revenues of about $80 million or $385 per sf.