1946 – 2026 Watching Steinbach Grow – Bible college student from India changing the face of Main Street

A young man, who came from India to study at Steinbach Bible College in 1973, has spent the next five decades becoming very much a household name as one of the real movers and shakers in residential, commercial and industrial development in the Steinbach area.

Solomon Budala and his wife Joanna celebrated their 50th anniversary in January of 2026 and their close-knit family joined them at the dinner table after church as usual. Budala was a Bible college student when he met his wife, Joanna, who was attending high school at the Steinbach school and they were married in 1976.

Looking back at his successes over the years, Budala recalls a less than auspicious introduction to the retail world of Steinbach, when he began working for Joe Penner at Penner Electric. He recalls he did everything from stocking shelves with electrical items to filling in as a part-time sales clerk in the furniture department.

Jack Kehler, who went on to become Steinbach’s city manager, was Solomon’s boss, as Joe Penner was holidaying in California at the time. One day, when the rest of the staff had gone out for lunch and he was alone in the store, Budala sold $6,000 worth of furniture. It was at that point he was made a full-time sales person.

Solomon spent one year with Penner Electric and then Joe Penner retired and the furniture store closed. From there, he moved on to work for Burt Loewen at Steinbach Furniture, where he was a minor partner, with a 10 percent share of the company.

It was while he was working at Steinbach Furniture that he was offered a full partnership in the purchase of a furniture store on the other side of the street.

It was in 1981 that Solomon was invited for coffee by Don Friesen and agreed to a partnership, and together they bought Giesbrecht Furniture. He was there five years before opening Solomon’s Budget Furniture at 365 Main Street, in the former Barkman Hardware store.

In 1987, Budala launched a second sales career, this time in real estate. He went from selling furniture for Steinbach area homes to selling homes for furniture from his Steinbach store with George Penner and Century 21.

Solomon came back to the furniture store in 1989, when he bought out Don Friesen, but continued with property development and his ever-expanding business at the same time.

Over the years, Budala has acquired partnerships in a number of commercial properties in Steinbach, including the Giant Tiger building, which became the Brookdale Mall when the auto dealer moved to a new location north on Highway 12.

The downtown property was purchased with partners Delbert Plett and Harry Peters. Harry’s son remains as a partner, Budala said.

Solomon’s Furniture today is located at the former Extra Foods location on Main Street, which had been part of the downtown mall which replaced the Tourist Hotel.

Taking over the grocery store in 2016, and converting it to a furniture store, resulted in close to $1 million in renovations, Budala said.

Budala also bought the Eastman Recycling plant from enVision, and that is where Solomon’s Furniture Warehouse, with a staff of five, is today.

Solomon’s son Mark began working at the furniture store when he was in high school and continued on a part-time basis while he attended college.

Solomon’s Furniture became his full-time occupation in the spring of 2011, Mark said.

The close-knit family still gets together on Sunday afternoons after church. (Solomon and Joanna attend EMC Blumenort and Mark and his wife, Amanda, are at Southland in Steinbach.) Mark’s brother Paul and his wife have two children, and his sister Sunita and her husband, Anders Rempel, have four children, so along with Mark and Amanda’s four children, there sometimes will be 18 at the table.

Solomon says both he and Joanna cook and are happy to share those duties for Sunday family dinners.

Mark says growing up, his parents taught him to follow God, to work hard, to go to church, to volunteer, to always be generous and to value relationships and family.

In Mark’s opinion, that summarizes the foundation for whatever success the family has enjoyed over the years.

The latest venture for the Budala family is a six-storey building at 362-366 Main Street, which includes both residential and commercial tenants.

When Budala proposed the development to fill a pair of empty Main Street lots in June of 2024, it was heralded by city council as the perfect fit for their vision of Steinbach’s downtown. When completed, it will be the most significant downtown development since the Steinbach Credit Union was built, more than a decade earlier.

Council unanimously approved a conditional use and variance for the planned building, which exceeds zoning regulations by introducing a multi-family element to a commercial zone, includes more storeys than normally allowed and is taller than present zoning permits.

There are three commercial spaces on the main floor. One has been occupied by Anderson Family Vision Care since April 1 and leases for the other two are being negotiated.

The first occupants of the 32 one, two, and three bedroom rental apartments will be moving in July 1.