Olivet Book & Gift, a Christian bookstore and gift shop in Alpena, Mich., will close after 35 years in business, the Alpena News reported.
Owner Mary Rajasekhar has started a closing sale, and if things go according to plan, she will close the store before the end of the month. Following her retirement, Rajasekhar intends to spend more time with her family, which is something she's "longed for years" to do.
Noting that a Christian bookstore operated in Alpena for many years before she opened her store, Rajasekhar told Alpena News she hopes someone opens another and does not leave a hole in the community.
"Thank you again for your years of patronage, encouragement, friendship, laughter, and some tears," she said. "I hope our paths may cross often and I will forever treasure this time we have shared at Olivet Book and Gifts, but I am excited to be able to do family things that I haven't been able to do, and the minutes are slipping away for me to do that."