Another reason to give up on this town...

Went to my favorite FLAPS today only to find it populated with aliens.....hadn't been there in a week and it seems that the management (Carquest) decided at the spur of the moment to sell the whole store and relocate the employees to the other stores around town. I had been become good friends with a couple of the "gang" and recently they got a new manager that really made the store "click". I had them "groomed" to keep the stuff in stock that I always used and one of the guys was a REAL parts guy who was also an old car nut. What a shock to see the whole store changed. The new owners own one of the two independantly owned Carquest stores in town whose store just had a major fire. They bought the store in a whirlwind overnight deal and moved in in a couple days. I have met the guy before in his old place and he is a decent sort and says he will help me out with whatever I need, but it won't be the same. His old store had the whole back section devoted to nothing but custom hoses of all kinds and I went there for AC fittings and hose all the time. That part of his old store was a total loss although he says he will be starting up the hydraulics again in the new store soon. He said that the chain sold him the store 'cause it was the least profitable in town, but I don't believe a word of that and who knows the reasons behind the major move. The store is right around the corner from my shop and it was always like walking into the old fashioned corner store when I was a kid. Knew where everything was, knew everybody, etc... I'll give the new guy (hardly a new guy in the biz as he has been at it for twenty plus years) a chance although his business is mostly fleet stuff but I feel like I'm out in the cold. This sucks. My buddy has been beamed to the other side of town about twelve miles away but I have a feeling his store will be delivering to me...... Studebaker George