This hardware store lasted 142 years. But it couldn't survive 2025.
The little brass bell on the door of Brown’s Hardware jingled — just like it had for 142 years — as the first customers of the day walked in.
Merchandise like wire strippers, work gloves and ball valves occupied every inch of the store not long ago, but were mostly gone now. Johnny Cash and June Carter’s song “Jackson” hummed from the stereo in the back.
A shopper and a clerk were talking. Then came hugs.
This wasn’t just the end of a store. This was the loss of a community’s anchor.
Owner John Taylor, 73, had witnessed this bond between his business and its customers for years. Northern Virginia has experienced several decades of commercial and residential development. Some small businesses have struggled to compete and had to close.
https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2025/03/27/browns-hardware-falls-church-closing/