LEESBURG, Fla. – After 69 years of business, Getzel's Department Store in downtown Leesburg is closing its doors. The store is Leesburg's oldest business on Main Street.
The closure comes after owner Freddie Mularsky became ill, according to store employees.
Volunteers and employees worked together to take care of the dozens of customers who came into the store Thursday afternoon, giving them the same service Getzel's has prided itself on for decades.
"There won't be another Getzel's," said one volunteer, who used to buy his own suits from Mularsky years ago.
Getzel Mularsky, Freddie’s father, opened the clothing store Feb. 1, 1950 in the same location that it sits in today. Getzel passed away in 2004, and his other son, Melvin, took over before he died in 2012. Freddie took over after this, and ran the store until recently.
Before he became the owner of the shop, Freddie was a schoolteacher for nearly 30 years, and at one point ran for Lake County superintendent.
The cozy mom and pop store was just as busy today, as it had been when Freddie was around.
Store manager Hope Tundis ran back and forth between the small aisles and the original cash register as customers browsed through shoes, dress pants and hats.
"You're not going to find another store that has prices like this." Tundis told a pair of customers.
The store cut its prices nearly 70 percent, and on top of the marked down sales, customers were able to make deals on bulk orders.
But it wasn't just the allure of the sale that brought in customers. Russ Adams, who lives in The Villages, has been traveling to Getzel's for more than two years because the clothes they sell "make a statement."
Adams said he likes to wear fun colors, and "the dynamic clothes [at Getzel's] are loud," which is what Adams said he’ll miss the most about the store.
A lot of the history behind the store can be seen across the walls and shelves. Dusty photos and yellowing newspaper clippings are scattered throughout the 980 sq. ft building.
One clipping from 1988 was an especially poignant reminder of the day with a headline that read “Stores come and go, but none has fit like Getzel’s.”
Adams called the store a “gem” and said he heard recently the store was going to close, but didn’t really believe it would happen.
“With how long it’s been here, and the people that come in here and shop … it won’t be here anymore for them to get what they need,” a volunteer said.
It was emotional for the volunteers and employees as they haggled prices with customers, and remembered the impact the small store had on the Leesburg community.