B&G Goods: owner shuts down as year ends

B&G Goods shut down permanently Saturday, according to its owner.

FRONT ROYAL — As 2017 begins, shoppers in the Historic District of downtown Front Royal will have one less option in which to purchase items.  B&G Goods, which opened just a year and a half ago in the old Stokes Mart building at 501 East Main Street, closed its doors for good on Saturday, December 31. 

A call to the store’s phone number indicated that the number was no longer in service and owner Billy Lambert confirmed via email Monday evening that the business had shut down. Signs posted on the front door of the building direct the store’s creditors to call a local phone number, while another sign directs those who have storage rentals through the company on how to contact the owner.

B&G Goods opened in April 2015, five months after the Warren County Economic Development authority announced it would be the new tenant at the site of the former Stokes Mart. 

B&G Goods was shuttered on Saturday, after selling its merchandise and fixtures.

In November, 2014 the authority declared it would purchase the site then lease it back to B&G partners Glen Sims and Billy Lambert, with an option for the company to buy the site in three years.

At the time the business opened, the pair planned to offer goods similar to what Stokes Mart offered over the years: outdoors goods, camping supplies, grilling supplies, hunting gear, fishing gear and live bait, household items, gardening items and groceries.

Both Sims and Lambert had previously worked as managers at Home Depot and felt their experience would allow them to operate a successful business in Front Royal.

At the time the store closed, Lambert was listed as the sole proprietor.