For the last 31 years, customers have visited The Andersons General Store for everything from groceries to home decor. That legacy will come to an end Saturday when Andersons closes its doors for good.
"It's heartbreaking," said Rhonda Clayton, who visited the location off of Brice Road Friday. "My aunt brought me here."
Clayton reminisced about visiting Andersons with her family members to purchase fresh flowers and cookies.
Many customers stopped by the stores Friday to see if there were any leftover deals. By Friday, much of the merchandise had been bought with the exception of an assortment of specialty beer.
David W. Ruff is general director of the East Columbus location. The closing will mean a life-long career change for Ruff. He has worked for the Andersons Corporation since 1973 in various capacities.
"I have nothing but great things to say," said Ruff. "I'm grateful. That's all I can say... absolutely grateful."
Andersons employed about 250 full and part-time workers. Ruff says nearly 90 percent of those employees were able to find new jobs.
"Every day I got a call from Meijers, Lindsay across the street, all kinds of employers saying 'we don't want to rob you cause we know you are in business, but we do have opportunities. How can we reach out to your team?'," said Ruff. "So...our HR department put together a job fair. I think we had 27 employers."
Anderson stores will be open 9 a.m. - 5 p.m. Saturday. After that, the store will only sell store fixtures and merchandising equipment.