Although Elaine Soya and her husband have lived in Vienna for only two years, they've frequented Southern States for gardening supplies. And like many area residents, they said they were sad to hear of the store's closing.
"It is nice to have a local store where you can buy things for the yard," said Soya. "And the personal touch of the staff, there aren't stores like that these days."
Residents saddened to see the store go have tried to contact the main office in Richmond to protest the store's closing. Yet despite a dozen emails, letters and phone calls, the Southern States store in Vienna is still scheduled to close its doors on Nov. 15.
However, the business may remain open if someone buys the store and becomes a Southern States dealer, said Southern States spokesman Jim Erickson. But even if someone buys the store, the property on Maple Avenue will be sold. Several businesses have expressed interest in the property, but no one has purchased it yet.
"One thing we have mentioned is that we are working to see if a private dealer would be willing to come in and sign an agreement with us," Erickson said. "They would be a dealer of Southern States goods, but not a Southern States store."
Southern States decided to close the Vienna store for several reasons, one being the economy.
"The agricultural economy has been very poor over the past couple of years," Erickson said.
ANOTHER FACTOR was the inability to expand the business on the property. Without an expansion, the business couldn't have met the increased demands of an evolving neighborhood.
"Vienna was profitable, but to remain competitive, we needed room to expand. It was better to go ahead and bite the bullet now than wait," Erickson said.
The decision to close the store was unexpected by employees, who heard the news on Sept. 7.
"We were pretty surprised by it, we would rather stay open," said assistant manager Robert Doyle.
Like other Southern States businesses in northern Virginia, the Vienna store initially served farmers. In fact, the Southern States business still remains an agricultural co-op owned by farmers within a multi-state area.
The present Southern States store has been at its location on Maple Avenue since 1947, and another Southern States store had existed by the railroad tracks, according to Doyle.
As northern Virginia grew, stores adjusted their wares to cater to a suburban clientele. Besides gardening and pet supplies, customers at the Vienna store could also purchase horse feed and tack and canning supplies. During the Christmas season, customers could purchase Christmas ornaments and other decorations.
But a country store surviving in the suburbs has yielded mixed results. While the Vienna store served both suburban and rural customers, the Herndon store closed in June 2001.
When the Vienna store closes, the closest Southern States stores will be in Leesburg and Manassas.
"Most people are telling us how sad they are that we're closing," Doyle said. At the checkout line, "every person will mention how sad they are that we're leaving."