As people saw the
“Closing Sale” sign on the store window last week, word quickly
spread that Morgan Hill’s The General Store is closing.
As people saw the “Closing Sale” sign on the store window last week, word quickly spread that Morgan Hill’s The General Store is closing.
”I’m not happy about closing, but I have to because of economic reasons,” owner Rosemary Smith said.
Smith has lived in Morgan Hill for 32 years, and she’s owned the store for 11 years. The past eight years, the gift store has been at its downtown location at 17390 Monterey Road. The store sells unique gifts, candy, scrapbooking materials, American Girl doll clothes, stained glass, jewelry and novelty items.
“People are sad about it,” Smith said tearfully. “They say, ‘You can’t leave, you’re Morgan Hill!’ We have some very good people here. Some have stopped by just to give me a hug.”
Smith and her daughters, Megan and Kiely, operate the store, along with six other employees. She said she didn’t inform her employees about her decision to close the store until last week.
“I just couldn’t. It broke my heart. We’re like family,” Smith said.
Higher costs of maintaining the business have forced Smith to give up the shop she’s ran for many years.
“I don’t want to close, and I’ve held out as long as I could. We’ve cried buckets of tears. I think I’ve been in denial for about a year and a half, but we finally sat down and did the numbers, and have come to terms with the fact that we just have to close,” Smith explained.
“I think it’s such a shame that she has to close her store,” exclaimed Jennifer Hamilton, one of Smith’s faithful Morgan Hill customers. “It’s awful to see this happen. She has so many different things. I always come here because she has the best paper, the best stamps and supplies.”
Hamilton makes her own Christmas party invitations and has purchased her supplies from The General Store for many years. When she learned the store was closing, she rushed there Wednesday to buy the items for her invitations early.
“They will be missed,” she said.
Jolene Hall, another Morgan Hill resident, said, “This store is famous!”
Hall learned about The General Store’s supply of rhinestone shoes when she admired shoes someone was wearing in Disneyland. “The woman told me she got it from Morgan Hill and she was the one that told me the store was closing. So I rushed here to get some. I can’t believe they’re closing!” Hall said.
The General Store will officially close its door on August 31. The closing sale features numerous items at a discount, even display shelves.
After closing shop, Smith plans to move forward. She’s going to open a home party business over the Internet, where she will specialize in jewelry and other discounted items. She will also feature The General Store items on her Web site, www.family finds.com. Call (408) 779-9464 for more information.
“I’ll have to move on, but I’ll really miss the place and the people,” Smith said.
Rose Meily covers City Hall for the Morgan Hill Times. Reach her at 408-779-4106 or by e-mail at rm****@mo*************.com
