The store on Kirby and Westheimer was packed with customers Thursday, buying everything from space heaters to stainless steel cookware, all to remember their retail neighbor.
"Really sad. And I'm not standing here to save $10, I'm standing here to be here for the sale," longtime customer Bill Matthews said.
Some said their parents took them there as children. Others said their wedding gifts came from the hardware store, which also featured high-end pots and pans.
"I remember Mr. Brown -- this Mr Brown's father -- and he'd be sitting in the front of the store and any question you had he could answer it," longtime customer Margaret Vaughan-Robinson said.
The decision to close was a hard one, but the son of the original owner says he couldn't find anyone to take it over.
Owner Jim Brown said, "There's nobody in our family old enough to make a decision and my siblings have all worked here and they're done with it."
The store will remain open until the last bit of inventory is sold.
"I think when it's gonna hit me, I don't know, is when all this stuff is gone and we're sweeping it out and ready to turn it over. Something's gonna happen then," Brown said.
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