MACON, Ga. — Educators will have to shop elsewhere now that the GA School Supply Store is closing.
From pens and pencils to maps and puzzles, the GA School Supply Store was essential to the educators and families of central Georgia. The store's been on Mercer University Drive for decades before you could buy things for the classroom online.
Now, it's time for the owners to pack up and retire.
The store is 55 years old, and owners Ed and Diane Vogel are its second owners. They've had it for the past 14 years.
"In a sense, we're an icon as far as Macon and Middle Georgia is," Vogel said. "It's the only one in Macon and right now. It's the only one that's in Middle Georgia."
They've served everyone from parents to professors, and they say they've met people all across the South who drove to Macon just to stock up on school supplies.
"It's a great feeling," Vogel said. "We're really going miss it, we really are. The conversations we have with teachers and the stories they tell us, it's just going to be hard for us."
To parent Melissa Coxt, it is more than just a school supply store.
She was buying toys for her daughter who has Down syndrome, and she says finding helpful tools close by and in-store is much better than online.
"To be able to hold and physically see the items you get before you buy is much better," Cox said. "You don't know all of the available options online so to come in here and see the things that are available is much better for people like teachers to buy because we don't have a whole lot of time as a teacher to Google things and everything else."
Ed says he's looking forward to some peace and quality time spent with his kids and grandkids while in retirement and he hopes someone else will open another store like theirs.
"It is very important as far as to the schools and teachers to have stores open and available," Vogel said. "It's the only place."
GA School Supply Store will be officially shutting its doors on Saturday at 6 p.m. with all items 50% off.
The store is on 4979 Mercer University Drive in West Macon and the owners have sold the store to their neighbor the Capitol Cycle Company who's expanding.