The Mancos Thrift Shop will be closing its doors on Sept. 15 to make way for the new Family Dollar store that will be built on the site.
Shop owner Robin Bays opened the store in February 2013 after working in thrift store management for about 27 years.
While the store was not set up as a nonprofit, Bays was committed to continuing the spirit of giving, and she had been donating much of her profits to local charity.
Most recently, she had donated to Medicine Horse, Montezuma Farm to School and the Cowboy Gathering.
After pouring so much time and resources into opening the business with her son, LeRoy Tafoya, she has decided that she will not be reopening the store. Additionally, she could not find a new location in Mancos with similar floor space.
"Ninety-eight percent of myself is very sad," she said.
Bays moved into her location after the building had stood empty for six years and had intended to buy the building after she had been in business for a year. She recalled the place as a big, dusty old building that she filled at first with some of her own items to jump-start inventory.
"I wasn't worried about anybody buying it out from under me," she said.
However, Family Dollar developers put the site under contract before Bays hit her one year anniversary in business. They recently submitted a building application on July 31. The plans were incomplete and developers will be returning to meet with the town's newly created Design Review Board Sept. 15.
The prospect of the town's first big-box store was at the center of many contentious town meetings. The town trustees initially put in place a moratorium on buildings over 5,000 square feet while the issue was discussed and design guidelines for the highway business corridor put in place.
The town board eventually found it could not legally block a specific kind of business and the members reasoned a blanket moratorium might hurt economic development.
However, local Pearl Covington sees the closure as a huge loss to the town because she said few will want to drive to Cortez or Durango to visit a thrift store. She will also miss Bays' customer service.
"She knows my name as soon as I walk through the door," she said.
While Bays will not be reopening in town, she has plans to open a small consignment store in her home eventually.
As part of the closure, she is also no longer accepting donations at the shop and many of items are on steep discount.
