TORA SANDERS LUCAS
Downtown Business Owner
Tora Sanders Lucas grew up in Monroe. Her grandparents moved to Monroe in 1936 in search of a small town outside of Commerce (the location of the original Sanders Furniture store founded in 1913) and in need of a furniture store. They opened the original store in Downtown Monroe in a rented space, and purchased a building downtown to move the store in 1950. Tora’s parents moved to Monroe in the late 60’s in search of a small town to raise a family, so Charles Sanders came to Monroe to work with his father at Sanders Furniture. Tora grew up walking to her grandparent’s home (which later became her parent's home) and worked at the store on Saturdays while she attended Monroe public schools. She went to Davidson College in North Carolina. When Tora finished college, she was ready to be in a much bigger city and moved to Atlanta where she worked. She had no intention of being in the furniture business.
Around 1992, Tora met John Lucas, a new History teacher at George Walton Academy and new resident in Monroe. They married and she commuted to Atlanta for five years until 1997. She decided it was a good time to begin working with her father and renovating Sanders Furniture store, one of the first buildings to experience a major renovation downtown. She infused her creative energy and built up the design side of the business. Two years ago, her father, Charles Sanders retired. They closed Sanders Furniture and sold the building to Peyton Pettus with State Farm. She returned to her career in the medical field and after commuting to a job in Athens, she decided it was time to reinvent herself, start something new downtown, Sanders Consign and Design, and to return to her community. She and John have two daughters.