MARSHALLS CREEK, Pa. — Sale signs hang throughout Starting Gate Action Sports ski shop in Middle Smithfield Township, saying everything in the store must go. After 50 years in business, owners Malcolm and Marge Law are calling it quits.
"We have had three major resorts in the area close down. A lot of the second homeowners that would be our customers are now full-time residents, so they don't necessarily ski and they don't have time. And internet, the internet kills us because you would have someone come in, and you'd spend half an hour fitting them just with the right ski boot and they would take a picture of it and order it online. So, time to say goodbye," Malcolm Law said.
The husband and wife team says it's time to slow down. The laws moved to the Poconos in the early 1970s.
Malcolm worked in the tourism industry, first at the Winona Five Falls attraction in the summer and then at the Fernwood Resort ski area in the winter. His love for skiing pushed the couple to open the shop and the Pocono Indian Museum.
They moved the ski shop's locations twice along Route 209 over the years before landing back in its original building.
"We moved down to a larger building down the road, that's now a hardware store. It was a 10,000-square-foot building that was in bankruptcy, and we expanded. We became the largest ski and snowboard shop, the first outdoor skate park in the area."
The ski and snowboard shop is hosting a massive sale to get rid of all of its inventory. The owners say that when they close the shop, they will transition and focus all of their attention on the Indian museum.
"It's really tough. It's been in our blood. All of our children ski and snowboard, one competitively. And it's hard to say goodbye, but it's time."
The owners say they will be open until all of the inventory is sold. Once the shop closes, all the employees will start working for the museum.