Our Name A group of people in San Francisco during the late '60s were going to open a flea market in an abandoned trolley station in the Russian Quarter. Since the station had a big domed roof, they were going to call it "Temple Slug." They never opened the market, so rather than waste a great name, we adopted it. Soon our customers were just calling us "The Slug".

Three months later someone drove up to the front of our store with a plastic sack filled with water. People in California were sleeping on this "water bed." We bought some boards at the lumberyard to build a box around it and placed it in the black light room of our basement. Soon people were coming from surrounding states to try out this strange object. We approached the Kuss Company in Findlay, Ohio to design a water mattress with square corners and a better drain system. Vinyl Products quickly adopted a similar design. We set out to sell the best waterbeds at the best prices. Today we are the oldest waterbed retailer in continuous business, selling mattress, heaters, linens, and other waterbed supplies.

During the 1980s some Bostonians pioneered American adaptations of an old sleeping surface from Asia -- the futon. We began selling the New Moon mattresses and William Brower's convertible frame which transformed from sofa to bed. Those companies are no longer around, but we sought other manufacturers who shared our philosophy of producing quality products. Today we are the oldest futon retailer in America which is our principal business.

We still operate out of the same building and under the same ownership as an independent business. We still have our original customers, and their grandkids, along with all the new friends we've made over the years. Word of mouth has been our best form of advertising.

Visit Temple Slug - A Kansas City tradition.
Original. Since 1970.