Virginia Beach, Va. - A Virginia Beach institution is disappearing come February.
It's not a school or a hospital. Nothing fancy like that. But it's a landmark that many people will tell you is irreplaceable.
You couldn't miss it.
It's that place on Witchduck Road between the expressway and the Boulevard with all those quirky things for sale. The kind of place that sells that thing you want that you can't find anywhere else. And it had "someone" special too.
“I got plenty of friends who said if I give them a holler, they'll come running and they'd help me throw things in a box, said owner Harry Gutelius
Gutelius opened Virginia Beach Feed and Seed 55 years ago. But what really grew was the city around him.
Now he's losing his lease and packing up shop.
From flowers to football, customers came from as far away as Knotts Island to buy from Harry.
“I met plenty of customers who would become good friends and that would really be my fondest memories,” he said.
Soon garden season will be here, but Virginia Beach Feed and Seed won't.
But Harry will still be around for those longtime customers who became friends.
“I`m gonna be answering my phone probably for a year. I`m gonna keep my same number and I’ll be trying to answer questions when they call in with their gardening questions,” he said.
Times may be changing, but they won't be passing Harry by. He'll not only have his phone but says you'll find him on Facebook. He might even open up a store again somewhere one day.
But whatever happens, Harry says don't worry.
“I didn`t say I’m not upset, but I have perfect peace. Santa wasn`t good to me, but the Lord is good to me. So I do have perfect peace. And mainly because I know I have friends.”
