MACON, Ga. — Wandee Asian Market on Riverside Drive is closing its doors at the end of February after just one year in business.
Nawarat "Ploy" Vibulrungsun and Chatnarin "Mac" Apirukanotai opened the market in Feb. 2021. It was a first for both of them.
Mac says they wanted to try something new. The couple moved from Texas, but are originally from Thailand.
"We don't see a lot of markets here, so we decided to do one," said Ploy.
The market has been a favorite in the community and brought something new to the area.
"We think, this might be a good business, because we are the only one open," said Ploy.
They sell Thai, Japanese, Filipino and Korean products.
"We always ask people, the customers, what they need," Ploy said.
In a Facebook post, Ploy and Mac expressed their sadness about closing.
The post received a tremendous amount of love from the community.
"We read all the comments on Facebook and feel so sad," Ploy said. "We tried it out... we don't make enough profit."
Due to supply and demand problems, they can't keep shelves stocked. They don't know when products will arrive and the price is going up.
But they don't want to leave on a bad note. Instead, they're remembering the good times like meeting customers who come in once or twice a week for snacks, ice cream, frozen foods, vegetables, and other items.
They decided a few months ago that they would shut down. Ploy says they want to keep going, but it's too much.
So, they are closing at the end of February. They want to thank all of their customers and Macon for supporting them.
If you're interested in getting some of their goods, they will be open about another week trying to sell what's left. You can find them at 2786 Riverside Drive.
Mac and Ploy say they will stay in Georgia, but will take a break to figure out what their next adventure will be.