224-year-old Rhode Island general store closing
 

Owner Jonah Waite inherited the shop after his father died of cancer last month. He said Saturday it was a hard decision to close the store and leave behind all the history, but the shop's finances aren't sustainable and a supermarket down the street has siphoned away business.

Waite, 21, who will be a senior at the University of Hartford in Connecticut in the fall, also is consumed with pursuing a career in sports journalism.
"Obviously, I understand the historical aspect of it, and I would really love to keep it the way it is, but it doesn't seem to me that that's the most feasible option," Waite said. "With the economy ... the place has lost its attraction, lost its luster."

Waite said he's not sure yet if he will keep the property or try to sell it.
The shop features general store standards like penny candy and a small selection of groceries, as well as antiques and collectible knickknacks. It's been in Waite's family for seven generations, since 1879, and comprises the front part of the family's home.



224-year-old Rhode Island general store closing - Yahoo! News