'People are coming into the store and crying'

Owners Karen and Ed Engelking will close the doors for good at the end of the July at Homecrafters Gallery in the Time Square shopping mall in Apple Valley.

There is unquestionable pain associated with saying goodbye to something that has been a big part of your life for 20 years. Some of it can even be physical.

"I had a woman sock me on the arm," Karen Engelking said. "She said, 'You know, you don't have to do this.'"

The Engelkings, both 68, beg to differ. It's time, they said. They have reached the age where the seven-day-a-week grind has become too much.

Having established a family-like relationship with their devoted customers over the years makes the move all the more bittersweet, but they have no doubt they have made the right decision.

Business has been brisk since the announcement at the start of the year. All home furnishings are marked 50 percent off. Furniture also is being sold at a discount. The Engelkings expect to have everything sold by the end of the month.

Phyllis Cohen, a retail consultant, has been brought in to assist with the closing. Cohen has had her business for 15 years, and she said she has never seen customers cling to a store like they have with Homecrafter's.

"It's been one big going-away party," Karen Engelking said. "People are coming into the store and crying."

Karen Engelking did her share of crying, too, after deciding to close the store. But that changed a few months back when her husband complained of shortness of breath in the morning before they left for work. Ed made it to the store but before long Karen had to take him to urgent care.

An EKG found Ed had numerous blood clots in his lung.

"I asked the doctor if Ed was going to die," Karen said. "He told me with those lungs he should already be dead."

Ed has made a full recovery. "I quit crying for the store after Ed's situation," Karen said. "It was a wake-up call. It put everything in perspective."

Karen Engelking bought the store with a partner 20 years ago. She bought her partner out a year later and watched the business continue to grow over the years. Ed Engelking joined his wife at the store six years ago after working for a data processing firm.

Karen Engelking said she and her husband have received offers for the store. In some cases they didn't want to do the financing themselves. In others, there were issues with the loans. The path with the least amount of hassle was to simply close the store.

The Engelkings' plan immediately following the closing of the store is to do some traveling. Included will be a trip to Missouri to take their granddaughter Alyssa to college. Retirement, apparently, is not yet in the picture.

"I'm going to do something," Karen Engelking said. "I just don't know what it is yet."