87-year-old Vernon Hardware & Auto Parts, which was affiliated with True Value Hardware and Napa Auto Parts, closed its doors permanently a week earlier than expected.
The iconic hardware and auto parts store, which opened in 1939, originally posted a Facebook message on July 14 that the store was closing and its last day would be July 31.
“After 87 years of serving our community, the time has come for us to say goodbye as we close our doors,” the store’s owners wrote in the Facebook message.
“Writing this letter is one of the hardest things we’ve ever done, because for so many of you, this has never been just a business relationship – it has been a multi-generational bond,” the message said.
The owners did not say whether they were experiencing any financial or competitive challenges. A Home Depot store operates about 9 miles away in Owosso, Mich.
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Vernon Hardware closes down early
The store’s owners posted a message on July 23 that its last day had changed to July 24, closing at 4 p.m. that day.
The owners gave no reason for the early closing and were not immediately available for comment.
The Vernon Hardware & Auto Parts owners Andy Fults and Betsy Ethington posted a final message on Aug. 1 after closing the store: “Thank you for being part of our story.”
When the owners decided that they would step away from the business, they tried to find a family to take over the store but were unsuccessful.
Couldn’t find a family to buy business
“It was terribly hard,” Ethington said about their decision to close, according to The Argus-Press. “We tried selling the business. We said the family business needs a new family and we didn’t find a family, so that’s really hard.”
The family-operated Vernon, Mich., store was founded by the owners’ grandfather, Fred Eberly, in 1939 and remained in the family until day it closed for the final time. Eberly’s original store in Downtown Vernon sold furniture, kitchen cabinets, and some farm and hardware supplies.
Fults and Ethington’s father, Robert Fults, became owner in 1962 and the store moved its location to 7200 E. M-71 in 1979 to take advantage of higher traffic that brought more customers.
Owner ran store for over 30 years
Andy Fults took the reins of the business in 1995, and Ethington joined the establishment in 2000. The two plan to take time to relax after running the hardware store for decades and maybe take vacations. They expect to eventually get new jobs “down the road,” Ethington told the Argus-Press.
“I have nothing planned, but I plan on planning something,” Fults said.
Vernon Hardware isn’t the only longtime family-owned hardware store to have difficulty finding a buyer. Another multigenerational hardware business in Florida recently closed after its family ownership plans changed.
Another family-run store shuts down
80-year-old Miller’s Hardware shut down its iconic Winter Park, Fla., store after the family-operated business’ owners decided it was time to close the establishment, Fox 35-TV in Orlando reported.
Miller’s Hardware, which opened for business in 1945 in a Ben Franklin variety store on Park Avenue in Winter Park, moved to its 3,000-square-foot location on Fairbanks Avenue shortly after beginning its business, WESH-TV reported.
The hardware store was owned and operated by Steve Miller, who was the third generation of Miller family owners to run the store. Miller’s son, Clay, was expected to be the fourth generation to eventually take ownership the company with plans to expand operations, but Clay Miller unexpectedly passed away in 2019, ending the hardware chain’s plans to expand.
The family decided it would not continue to operate the flagship store either.
Miller’s Hardware closed its doors in June, with its final Facebook post appearing on June 11. Tuni, a local boutique, announced in July that it would relocate to the Miller’s Hardware space, according to Bungalower.
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