PARIS L. GRAY/Courier-Post Sales Manager Laura Green, left, helps Medford resident Patti Mastoris who was shopping for a lamp table at The Dump, a discount furniture store that recently opened its first South Jersey store in Washington Township.

Unlike township officials who cringed when they first heard the name, John Bradford was happy to see The Dump had arrived here.

Bradford, a 37-year-old contractor from Glassboro, knew of the discount furniture chain from his days as a college student in Virginia.

Last Friday, he and his wife, Karen, bought a hallway table during the store's grand-opening weekend.

The name might lead some to believe The Dump is the final resting stop for sagging sofas and vintage vinyl recliners, but Bradford knows better.

The Dump carries new merchandise, albeit items that are usually factory closeouts, floor samples or discontinued models.

"You've got to remember you get what you pay for," Bradford said.

The Dump moved into the former Bradlees department store on Route 42 here and had a soft opening two weeks ago. Since then, bargain hunters and the just plain curious have packed the store, which is open only Friday through Sunday.

"We're open the busiest days, when customers are out shopping," said David Weinstein, vice-president of store operations.

Some township officials complained about the name when The Dump announced last summer it would open its first South Jersey location here.

The outcry quieted when those officials learned The Dump had hired rougly 100 full- and part-time workers from the area, said David Brand, executive vice president of Haynes Furniture Co., The Dump's parent company.

Haynes is based in Virginia Beach, Va.

The family-owned company operates three other stores known as The Dump in Virginia: one each in Richmond, Norfolk and Hampton. It also operates three locations under the Haynes name and two upscale furniture stores known as The North Carolina Company, all in Virginia.

On Jan. 31, Haynes opened a Dump location in Langhorne, Pa. Company officials said they're looking for an additional South Jersey location.

The name is meant to be catchy and stick in customer's heads, Brand said.

"We don't take ourselves too seriously," he said.

The 89,196-square-foot building here is crammed with dining room sets, Persian rugs, carpeting and bedroom furniture.

Much of the merchandise is one of a kind, Weinstein said.

"Every week you walk in here and it's a different selection of goods," he said.

The former Bradlees building, which sat vacant for more than two years, now carries the Dump's distinctive red-and-white facade.

And there's a highly visible sign near the highway that trumpet's the building's new identity.

"We're not crazy about the name," Mayor Randee Davidson said. "But we want them to be successful."