McDONOUGH – After 15 years of business, Tom and Mary Gorman, owners of the McDonough General Store, have born the blows of a harsh economy and have been forced to throw in the towel, resolving to close their store at the end of the month.

The decision to close comes with hesitation and a heavy heart for the couple, who have spent more than a decade building memories and special relationships in the community. After exploring other options and being denied business loans to keep the doors open, the Gormans made the difficult decision late last month to close.

“We used to always have a small crowd in here,” Tom Gorman said, observing that crowds have slowly dwindled over the years. While business decreased, the costs of licensing and other operational fees have risen, leading them to make cuts and recently lay off four part-time employees. “We’ve done everything we could and hung on as long as we could; we just couldn’t go any further,” he added.