- Hamblen Hardware in St. Augustine is closing. The owner said it is just too difficult to keep going in today's economy.
The store opened in 1875 and has moved over the years. Owner KC Kramer has been running the store for the past 17 years and said it has been his life.
"We have thought about it for the past year, what do we want to do, and I just don't like doing it because I love serving the community, and that's what this hardware store is all about," Kramer said.
The store will be having a blowout sale from now until February.
Kramer said he personally calls customers to let them know when something they need arrives. It's just one way he said he tries to live up to the Hamblen Hardware legacy.
Kramer said it's important to give the oldest named store in Florida a hometown feel.
"I'm one little guy and I just love doing it. I love helping people out, love to see the satisfaction on their faces," Kramer said.
Kramer's store sells services, tools and knick-knacks. Kramer works alongside five longtime part-timers and his wife of 46 years, Gail.
"I'm the bookkeeper and I also check people out," Gail Kramer said. "I do inventory, I clean the bathrooms, I mop floors, I do whatever the boss wants me to do."
