MANCHESTER, CT — From fishing tackle to bicycles to camping gear and beyond, the saying in Manchester for decades has been “Farr’s has to have it.” Therefore, the news this week that the Farr family will be heading into retirement and closing its namesake store has been sparking memories for several days.
Co-owner Patty Farr delivered the news Wednesday. She and sisters Lisa, Deb and Jamie have run the store founded by their dad, James, for several years.
“It’s headed that way,” Patty said about about retirement.
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And it has been quite a ride. Farr’s roots roots go back to 1955, when Jim Farr opened Manchester Surplus, a general merchandise store store squeezed in between a TV repair shop and package store.
In 1971, amid a renewal project to spruce up the north part of town, Farr expanded his business and opened Farr’s Sporting Goods at 2 Main St. in the north end.
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The family business quickly established itself as part of the community while offering a wide variety of products and services like:
In the warmer months, hard-core campers knew that Farr’s would likely have hard-to-find accessories needed in a pinch. In the winter, when the big box stores had no sleds, it was usually off to Farr’s to get one.
There is no definitive closing date, Patty said. The plan is to sell as much inventory as possible and then decide on the future, she said.
She did acknowledge “a lot of memories” come with the decision.
And the memories have been pouring in for days on social media. Here are some of the posts:
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