A hardware store that has served the Bryan-College Station area for more than a century is closing its doors for the last time.
Parker-Astin Hardware in downtown Bryan started as the sort of place where a credit account could be opened with a handshake. The decision to close next month was difficult but financially necessary, owner Zane Anderson told The Eagle of Bryan-College Station. The store has been losing money for the past three years after several years of breaking even, he said.
G.S. Parker and E.H. Astin first opened the doors in 1911. Anderson says the pair sold the store to the Varisco family sometime in the 1950s or '60s, and he bought it in 2005.
The closing will put four people out of jobs, he said. However, manager Glynn Owen, 76, said he had already planned on retiring in November. He says he views himself as a rookie compared to some former colleagues.
Adele Englemann worked at the store for 48 years, and Harold Tanner worked there from age 21 in 1936 to his death at 85, Owen said. Tanner had lost his sight in his last years but could choose the right screw by touch, Owen said.
