There is a cute little mom & Pops hardware store that I love to browse it. It looks like I"m right in the middle of the 1940's. There is a little of everything, like get your keys made, how about a bunch of plastic flowers for a grave, and yes, even fabric. They had a wonderful selection of flannel. Probably about 200 or more bolts, most about $4 yard. I went in there yesterday to get some flannel for receiving blankets gifts.

But what a shock! They are closing down. Selling everything for 50% off. The state is widening the street, and their old building is in the way. Yes, I can see progress in the area, but how sad that the old folks contribution to society is over. They are too old to relocate.

The fabric was almost gone. ALL the flannel was gone. But how about cotton for backing and piecing blocks together. I ended up buying 5 full bolts. It had been marked down to $3.19/yd, then 50% off after that!! I had actually been on my way to JoAnns for medium blue broadcloth cotton, and I got it there. So I ended up with about 65 yards of fabric and 125 spools of thread, all for $150. The quality is as good as a LQS.

When I walked through the door, my poor husband just sighed and said "there must be a good story to go with this one!".

Can you believe that luck of fortune! I'm sad that "Nissons" will be gone, but I"m glad that I got such a good purchase!

This makes me wonder how many little mom and pops variety stores remain? Our Ace hardware also has fabric. They are all going away for the big chains.

It' s so sad to see the mom and pop stores closing down.

We lost a whole street in our downtown area. almost all of the old time shops are gone. We still have a meat market which is very cool but the hardware store just closed last year. Very sad!

It was a sad day in our neighbourhood the day "Bill's store" closed. It too was a hardware store where if you needed one bolt, you could buy - one bolt! Not a blister pak of 12.
His lease was up for renewal and the plaza it was in wouldn't give him anything less than a 10 year lease. He knew that a HUGE chain hardware store was coming in about a year, so he opted to close instead. It's a real loss.
Now I go to the next closest SMALL hardware store, it's about 2 miles away, instead of that said chain store, which is 2 blocks away. It's a matter of principle!
Same reason I travel out of town to a lovely quilt store instead of giving my business to the closest store where the owner doesn't know the meaning of the word - pleasant.

We have a wonderful old five-and-dime in the next town over. Vidler's http://www.vidlers5and10.com has been in business since 1930 and they still have the old, wide, slightly squeaky wooden floors, penny candy, back-to-school supplies, toys, craft stuff, collectibles, greeting cards, taps for your maple trees in the spring, all sorts of kitchen gadgets, cookie cutters, and... FABRIC!

Anybody from the western NY area, if you haven't ever gone there, by all means, do! If you have little kids or grandkids, turn them loose in Vidler's with a quarter and they will have lots of choices of things to buy! Let's see... bag of popcorn... plus a ride on the mechanical horse... and 5 mini tootsie rolls or a balloon. With fifty cents they would be positively rich!