Matt Gentry | The Roanoke Times

Reed Lumber Co. in Christiansburg will close its doors after its inventory is sold.

CHRISTIANSBURG -- After more than 60 years in business, Reed Lumber Co. will close its doors in the coming months.

Owner Connie Reed Stoner on Monday cited extreme economic conditions in the building industry and the challenge of keeping up with big-box stores as reasons the company will go out of business.

For now, the store will remain open with limited hours until all its inventory is sold. The store eliminated Saturday hours about a month ago and will now operate only from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. The store will be closed this Thursday and Friday to allow employees to take inventory and will reopen Monday.

"All we can ask is for the public to help support us in removing the merchandise we have now," said manager Kevin Stoner, who is Connie Reed Stoner's husband.

He estimated that the store will probably be open for a couple more months to liquidate merchandise in stock. Throughout this process, all sales must be made with cash, check or credit card. All open customer accounts will be closed.

Stoner said he has enjoyed the relationship that Reed Lumber and the community have shared throughout the years. He said he takes pride in the fact that the money the company has made stayed in the community, either through providing jobs for residents or through donations and events to local causes.

At one point, Stoner said Reed Lumber had 70 employees. That number dwarfs the 14 employees that remained Monday. Stoner had to lay off half his work force Friday, which he said is the worst part about the situation.

Stoner said rather than take out a large loan that might not be feasible to repay in the current economic climate, he would rather liquidate so the company can close its doors and retain the property.

He said the country's economic crisis will likely get worse and take a few years to turn around, which affects his business because people will be more inclined to purchase houses rather than have them built.

Stoner said some 80 percent of the company's business is from contractors and builders.

Word of the company ceasing operations spread quickly, as Stoner rarely had a free moment Monday afternoon as he fielded calls from both his cellphone and office phone from residents who wanted to verify what they had heard.

Betty McNeil was in the store looking for an item that Reed Lumber doesn't carry. She was directed to another local supplier. She said she was pleased that another store in town carried what she needed so that she could avoid having to shop at a big-box store.

"I only go local," she said.

McNeil said she was heartbroken when she learned that Reed Lumber would be closing.

She and Stoner have known each other through the years, and he gave her daughter her first job after she graduated college and was having a hard time finding employment. That type of personal interaction and comfort level are what have kept McNeil and her husband shopping at Reed Lumber.

"I'd rather come here than go to Home Depot or Lowe's any day," Alvin McNeil said.

Charles Eugene "Gene" Reed opened Reed Lumber with his father in 1948 and was involved with the business until his death in 2005. Daughter Connie Reed Stoner, who took over after her father's death, said in a letter that it was a difficult decision to close the company since its been in her family for three generations.

Kevin Stoner said his father-in-law was one of the smartest people he had ever known and put his heart and soul into creating and maintaining the company.

"I'm glad he didn't have to see this day," he said.