HARRISBURG, Ill. (WSIL) -- A longtime business in Harrisburg is shutting down amid low profits and high inflation.
Sloan Street Market owner Brett Allen announced the store will close its doors April 29.
"Business just isn't what it used to be. I can't make enough profit to pay my employees and [myself]," Allen said. "There's Âjust not enough [customers]."
Allen took over the business in 1986 after his parents and grandparents took over the building and opened the store in 1957. The building dates back to the 1930s may have operated as a grocery store too, according to Allen.
Allen says he grew up working in the store and is 'still growing up' there today. He remembers the advice given to him by his family.
"Have a good product try to sell it at a fair price and treat people right," Allen said.
But after nearly four decades Allen says it's time for him to retire. Harrisburg resident Linda Teegarden, who came in to buy fresh meat, says she was disappointed to learn about the store's closure.
"We don't have any little stores anymore and this was the last one we had," Teegarden said. "It's been a special place. I'm sure its been a special place for a lot of people."
It's also the place to go for a school lunch break. Brody Nyberg, a student at Harrisburg High School, comes to the store twice a week to buy a sandwich, chips and potato salad. But his lunches at Sloan Street Market are numbered.
"[I'm] kind of upset. I'm hoping someone will buy it so that it'll still be here for all the kids at the high school to come and eat," Nyberg said.
Allen does have prospective buyers for the building but doesn't know if the shop will reopen with the potential new owners. Allen says he'll miss the early-morning routines, the people and the signature Saturday morning cookout.
"Saturday's my busiest day," Allen said. "If everyday were like Saturday we wouldn't have thought about retiring."