mom-and-pop: August 2009 Archives

The economic downturn is hitting local stores especially hard. Saddest among those affected are the decades-old establishments suddenly facing bankruptcy or liquidation. Recent news affects numerous local stores with long histories:

• Syracuse, New York, home furnishings retailer Goldberg's is closing after nearly a century in business. Goldberg's, which once operated seven stores across upstate New York, first opened in 1910. Descendants of the founder include the owners of the Raymour & Flanagan furniture chain.
  
• In good ol' Gothenburg, Nebraska, 43-year-old Hometown Variety is closing this autumn after clearing out inventory. Longtime owner Merle Honerman cites rising costs and declining sales as the usual culprits, and says he was unable to find a buyer for the business.
• Kent Hardware in Kent, Ohio, is ending a 125-year-run next month. A sister store will remain open in a neighboring town, but Kent is now left without a hardware store.
• And in Vinton, Iowa, Mahood's Shoe Store is closing after 63 years of operation. Bob Mahood plans on continuing shoe repairs after the clearance sale is complete.
  

The economic downturn is hitting local stores especially hard. Saddest among those affected are the decades-old establishments suddenly facing bankruptcy or liquidation. Recent news affects regional chains with long histories:

• Colegate Food Center in Marietta, Ohio, is closing up shop after 52 years in business. "We're not closing because we want to be closing," said owner Glen Antill, who has been working at Colegate since 1955, two years before it turned into a supermarket.
• Next Friday is the last day for Crocodile Pie, the 20-year-old children's bookstore in the Chicago suburbs. The store was bought in a rescue maneuver last year but sometimes fails to generate as much as $100 in sales in a day. Chicago's 35-year-old Prairie Avenue Architecture Bookstore is also closing if it fails to find a buyer by September 1.
• In Grand Junction, Colorado, Appleseed Health Foods is closing after a 31-year run. The official reason is the owner's retirement, although the store tried to sell itself for two years without success.