FACTORYVILLE -- There aren't many places like Ray's Supermarket in Factoryville. It's the kind of place where you get a hug from your cashier when you come in.
There are more hugs than usual now ever since a poster went up on the supermarket's doors telling customers the Ray's Factoryville location will close at the end of the month.
"I just found out this morning and I was shocked and, it`s a fun place to be everybody here is happy to see you and it`s just a nice place to be," said Bob Way of Factoryville.
It will mean the closing of Ray's original store and Factoryville's only grocery store.
"I have to go to Tunkhannock, I mean it`s not that far but I prefer the small town things. I don`t like to go to big stores, I like the smaller stores," added Karla Uccellini of Factoryville.
Ray`s is a throwback - and one of the things that makes it so is it`s size. The manager told Newswatch 16 that`s one of the reasons it`s forced to close.
"This building itself is too small to compete, we`re just too small. For 12 years we`ve been trying to do something to expand in town and there`s not much available, and what is available just is not feasible," said store manager Mike Pugh.
Pugh has worked here since he graduated high school, 36 years. Tammy Migliori has more than 25 years in. Another thing that makes Ray's stand out.
"It`s a shock, it was a surprise, I knew we were slowing down but I didn`t realize that things were this rough," Migliori said.
So, it's a loss of a career for many of the employees at Ray's and the loss of a community gem for the customers.
Ray's last day in Factoryville is February 28th.