Lord's Department Store Closing After 73 Years In Medfield
MEDFIELD (CBS) - If you have ever driven down Main Street in Medfield, you most likely came across the unique neon sign and ventured into Lord's Department Store. Lord's is one of the last remaining mom and pop department stores in the area and a landmark in Medfield.
"Lord's is a little slice of Mayberry, a slice of the past," owner Nancy Kelly Lavin said. And for customers who come to Lord's, it's a big part of their upbringing.
This landmark store has been serving the community of Medfield for past 73 years. It's open seven days a week, 365 days a year. "We never close. We are open for Christmas too. We are a good old fashion Yankee work ethic store," Lavin said.
Nancy along with her brother Tom Kelly have been running the store for decades, but it was their father Bill Kelly who handed out the very first flyer in the community back in 1940. It was known as Lord's Five and Ten Cents Store. "My dad was the original soda jerk and my mom was the cashier up front. He would make homemade ice cream and it would take him six hours with a hand crank," Lavin said.
Billy Kelly passed away back in May, and after a lot of thought the kids have decided to say goodbye to Lord's. They say they're closing it down not because business is bad, but because they need a break. "This is a bittersweet moment for us. It's hard but everything must go from merchandise to fixtures," Tom Kelly said.
Customer Marge Vasaturo remembers when the store opened in 1940. "It's a great loss. It's a community center in many ways. You can come here and get a great fish taco and at the same time buy some embroidery floss," Vasaturo said.
Starting on Tuesday everything in the store will go on sale. The store closes on February 28th.
"The memories, is something you can never replace. We will always have those," Kelly said.
