RETAIL / LEISURE

Springing Into O.C.: The company that made the world’s largest bed is bringing its mattress-selling talents to Orange County.

Acme Mattress Factory Inc. has made and sold mattresses in Long Beach since 1932 in relative obscurity. But its biggest claim to fame--not to mention its biggest publicity stunt--came last year, when it earned a place in “The Guinness Book of World Records” for “Megabed,” a 1,000-square-foot mattress that it called the largest in the world. No one ever really slept on the foam-rubber mattress atop expansive box springs, said company co-owner Ellen Boles, but before it was dismantled, a few Boy Scouts hopped around on it and it served as a practice pad for a gymnast.

Acme already has a 24,000-square-foot factory in Huntington Beach, Boles said, so the company figured it might as well open a retail store nearby. It will retain the Long Beach store. The new store will open next Wednesday at the Fountain Valley Promenade, 18449 Brookhurst St.