Babylon Paint & Hardware Shutters Doors

As Bob Norman leans on his counter and ponders the shuttering of Babylon Paint & Hardware, which closes its doors Saturday after 75 years at 264 Deer Park Avenue, there's sadness in his voice.

"It's a hard thing [to close] and it hurts. There's a sense of failure and at the same time a sense of letting down the community," said the life-long village resident.

As owner and operator for the past 11 years, Norman does smile when reminded he attained his childhood dream of one day owning the store, but is clearly disappointed the run didn't last longer.

"My most vivid memory is coming here as a child with my mother when she voted as the store was a polling place back in those days," he recalled, looking around at the near empty shelves and taking a minute from talking to help a customer find concrete nails.

Shoppers seeking bargains steadily streamed into the store on Friday as everything was marked down by 65 percent.

"I just always loved this store," said Norman, relating that when he heard the original owners, the Aripotch family, decided to sell in 1999 he immediately ran down and made the deal.

He says friends and family warned him it might not be the best time given the advent of mega hardware stores such as Home Depot arriving on Long Island. He weathered those early years only to find his store soon sandwiched by Home Depot, Ace and Lowes.

"All of those big stores are now within two miles of my store and that, with the general economy, is what did us in," said the 59-year-old.

One of the things Norman will miss most, right after the daily interaction with customers, is the fact he won't be playing Santa this year.

A professional Santa for hire, Norman proudly displays photos of many young children who sat on his lap during past holiday seasons. He says many mothers have expressed sadness they won't be able to bring their children in at holiday time.

"Since I announced the store was closing I've gotten such sincere and heartfelt visits from so many people," he said.

It's also a sad chapter in life for his sons Drew, 20, and Greg, 25, who both worked in the family business. There was discussion of the sons taking over but a job opportunity prompted his oldest son and his family to relocate to Florida.

Norman's already working a fulltime management job with Ace Hardware in Commack and he hopes to rent the store location.

Between then and now he's already got a business plan in place to use the store as an auction site and a slew of residents have already signed up to sell household goods.

"That's our contingency plan and we have had some retail rent inquiries," said Norman, who advises new store retailers to shore up organizational skills as he found that a challenge as a storeowner.

"That, and they should also take offers of help when given," he says with a rueful smile.