It’s rare these days to find an independent business that has been passed down from generation to generation. Unfortunately, one more of these storefronts is closing for good. After 142 years in business, Brown’s Hardware, the oldest operating store in Falls Church, is closing.
The store is set to close by mid-March, according to WUSA9. Shoppers that head to the store will find a 50 percent off sale on all merchandise.
The sale of the property is set to be completed on April 1, according to WTOP. A new restaurant is set to take over the space, but the new owners have yet to be announced publicly.
The store originally opened in 1883 by James W. Brown as a general and hardware store, called J.W. Brown Groceries & Hardware. Since then, the business has been passed down through three generations of the Brown family before being sold to its current owner, John Taylor.
Taylor became the store owner in 2018 after its last owner, Hugh Rose Brown, who had no children, passed away in 2018. Taylor has been working at Brown’s Hardware since 1997.
The closing of Brown’s Hardware marks the second store on W. Broad Street to close in a matter of months. Last September, Dominion Camera closed its storefront after 53 years in business.
Feature image by Michele Kettner
