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The holiday savings were bittersweet at The Anchor Room on Saturday.
Hundreds of people flocked to the Christian bookstore’s liquidation auction. Although some were looking for a bargain on the variety of desks, chairs and other goods, many in the crowd were looking for a keepsake from a cherished business.
Marianne Hoffman of Grabill was a regular shopper at the store at 4530 Lahmeyer Road. She said she loved relaxing at the coffee shop.
She hoped to buy one of the chairs she used regularly at the shop.
“I’ll miss it terribly,” she said.
Hoffman said she understands the reasons the store had to close, but she feels for the owners – Paul and Pauline Holsopple. Paul Holsopple was diagnosed in February with an advanced tumor.
The Anchor Room, which at one time employed 65 people and saw 400 to 500 customers a day, had recently cut to 21 employees and was seeing only 100 to 200 customers a day.
But even those cuts couldn’t help the business stay open.
The Holsopples started Anchor Room in 1969 in their basement. The store was in Maplewood Plaza for 28 years before being moved to its current location in 1998.
Before the auction began, an emotional Pauline Holsopple addressed the crowd, thanking them for their support.
“It’s a very sad day for all of us,” she said. “We’re going to miss all of you.”
She said the business has started a new chapter by going exclusively online. People can shop at www.anchorroom.com.
Shannon Harris, 38, of Fort Wayne, was a fairly regular shopper at the Anchor Room.
She said she was sad to see it close but was able to take advantage of the auction by buying four boxes of music CDs for $45.
She said she plans to donate some to her church and use the others for education or gifts.
The auction provided great deals, she said, but it was also difficult knowing the reason for the fire-sale prices.
“It’s sad the community is benefiting from their loss,” she said.
