The last hours of Aldrich’s Market on April 30 had a steady flow of locals coming to wish the 125-year-old business goodbye and forage through the remaining goods.

Masked patrons came and went, wishing the workers farewell, saying how sad they were to see the business close and asking cashiers like Sam Hobart and Teresa Ainge what’s next for them.

“I don’t even know what I am going to do when I wake up in the morning,” Ainge said.

Owners Scott and Robin Rogers announced last month the business would close its doors since it was no longer able to sustain itself and its 25 full-time employees.

The coronavirus pandemic was the tipping point, Scott said, with a significant decrease in business exposing the problem of no longer being “relevant” to the community.

In the last week the store was open, they offered their stock at a 50% discount to clear the shelves and recoup some of the stores losses needed to “pay the man,” according to Aldrich’s Market Facebook page.

It seems that strategy might have been successful as, when the doors closed, there was almost nothing left. The final items seemed a humorous representation of Port Townsend rejects like gimmick flavored Cheetos, microwave Hot Pockets and sodas.

In the final moments the store was open, there was no fanfare, no grand send off, just a small collection of current and former employees enjoying each other’s company in the space that had brought them together.

At the end of each transaction, there was a moment when the customer realized they were saying their final farewell. They would turn to the cashier to wish them well in whatever comes next, and Hobart or Ainge would just say, “Don’t worry, I’ll still see you around.”

In the weeks since the owners announced the store was closing, residents came out in Port Townsend fashion to do what they could to say goodbye with social distancing restrictions in place.

One woman set up a cardboard “thank you” sign outside the store on Tyler Street. Others brought flowers, cards and handwritten signs wishing the employees farewell.

A group of five residents came into the store on April 30 to sing for the employees and shoppers farewell songs with a ukulele and kazoo accompaniment.

It’s the end of an era for Port Townsend as Aldrich’s represented much of the hub of Port Townsend’s Uptown culture. It served as a community gathering place for generations of Port Townsend residents. Many still remember walking to the store as children and the hardships the store faced like when its original building burned to the ground on a windless and warm August morning in 2003.

“Doesn’t it just make you want to cry?” Hobart said.