An outdoor equipment store that's been a Vancouver retail fixture for the past seven decades will close its doors permanently this fall.
Co-owners Jerry and Keith Wolfman, owners of 3 Vets on Yukon Street, have sold the property to a developer.
It wasn't the first time the duo has been approached to sell the 10,000-square-foot outdoor gear store, which sits on a prime parcel of land a block away from Cambie Street, and an easy walk to two Canada Line stations.
But this offer came at the perfect time – and they couldn't refuse it.
"We're getting on in years," Jerry, who has worked in the store since the 1960s, told CTV Vancouver.
Often working seven days a week, Jerry said he's been thinking for some time he’d like some freedom and time for himself.
"We've both given so much for so long," he said, adding that the economics of running a large business have changed in recent years with increasing property taxes – and growing competition online.
"The retail landscape is so different than it was 10, 15, 20 years ago," he said.
Specializing in camping gear, travel equipment and emergency supplies, the store first opened in 1947 by Bill Wolfman, their father, who moved to Vancouver after serving in the Royal Canadian Air Force training fighter pilots in World War II.
The elder Wolfman enlisted the help of his brother Joe and another friend, both veterans, top open up a storefront on Main and Prior streets called 3 Vets.
The store moved locations to 2200 Yukon Street after the land was expropriated in order to build the Georgia Viaduct in 1968.
Since the announcement the heritage store will close Nov. 1st, the support from the community has been "overwhelming," says Jerry.
"It's a place where we socialize. The staff are like members of the family. Our clientele are literally distant cousins. It's home," he said.
But don't expect any grand closing out sales, or last-minute blowout deals, in the weeks leading up to closure.
"We're going to bow out gracefully," he said.
