HARRISONBURG, Va. (WHSV) – Glen’s Fair Price Store is preparing to close its doors in the near future.
The family business has been a fixture in the “Friendly City” for 83 years, i.e. three generations, but now wants to sell its building on Main Street and close its doors at some point.
“We’ve been here a long time and we’re at a point now where, at my age and with the current situation, the market is not what it used to be,” said Gary Stiteler, owner of Glen’s Fair Price Store. “One of our biggest lines of business was cameras and … cell phones are taking over a lot of that.”
Glen’s Fair Price was founded in Harrisonburg in 1941 by Gary’s parents, Glen and Evelyn Stiteler. The store initially sold products such as aspirin, band-aids and over-the-counter medications. Today, it sells a wide variety of items.
“As time went on, we adapted to the trends of what people were looking for and what they were interested in,” said Gary. “So we got into the camera business in 1952 – that’s when we started the camera business. Then in the 1980s we got into costume rentals.”
There are several factors that led to the decision to close the store. One reason is the increasing competition in the costume sales sector.
“Walmarts and Targets started carrying things and it got a little harder. Now we’re dealing with Spirit (Halloween) which comes once a year, they’re only here once for a couple of months and then they fly out of town on an airplane and the next year they’re back. That’s really affected business in general and made things a lot harder,” said Gary Stiteler Jr., Gary Sr.’s son who also works at Glen’s Fair Price Store.
Other factors include the increasing number of online purchases since the COVID-19 pandemic and the decline in the camera business.
“Cameras were our life and the camera business has completely disappeared,” said Gary Sr. “We used to do a lot of dealing with professionals all over the state and going to trade shows and things like that. That all kind of died out for us and that’s why it’s become very difficult for us to survive.”
Gary Jr. said it would be difficult to give up the store once the building was sold.
“I’ve lived here my whole life, so it’s been a very educational experience learning about the business and the things I’ve been able to learn in sales,” said Gary Jr. “It’s a tough thing, but life goes on and there are things that will happen along the way. Who knows what the next steps hold for me? Family is everything and I’ve been here my whole life, so we’ll see where it goes from here.”
Gary Sr. said it has been great to watch downtown Harrisonburg grow over the years. He said the community has always been great for his business.
“JMU is very supportive. We sell to some of the photography classes and really specialize in the products they need, but the people in this community have just been fantastic customers over the years,” said Gary Sr. “They’re not really customers – they become our friends and they become our family. Yesterday a guy came by who was already very busy and he said he heard we were closing and just stopped by to say hi.”
Gary Sr. said interacting with customers is what he will miss most after the store closes.
“When the time comes that we close our doors, we’re really going to miss our customers,” said Gary Sr. “That’s something we’re really going to have to think about when we turn the key for the last time. It’s going to be difficult.”
Gary Sr. said he has no specific plans for his retirement after the store closes, but one thing he knows for sure is that he will.
“I’m very involved with the Salvation Army. I think it’s a wonderful organization,” said Gary Sr. “I’ll probably devote a lot more time to the Salvation Army now that I have the opportunity.”
There is no set closing date for Glen’s Fair Price Store and the store will remain open until the building is sold.
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