I missed this — really missed this — from 4 months ago, when I was still in a fog from the forced work from home.

Dury’s, the landmark Nashville photography store, that opened in 1882 as one of the original eight Kodak dealers appointed by George Eastman himself, has closed:

From the Dury’s website (link may eventually break) and a Facefuck post dated 21 May 2020:

After very careful consideration, I have made the difficult decision to close our doors for good. This is something that when I started working for this company in 1991 I never in a million years thought I would ever be doing. In the last eight weeks I have seen our business and lives turned upside down. I have spent countless hours working with advisers and thinking through every angle I could. I have consulted with our board of directors and accountants. Unfortunately, closure was the decision that we reached.

 

[…]

 

I want to thank all our customers for your loyal support over the years and I am sure we will see you again. I also want to thank our staff for their long years of service. Many have worked for the company for ten years or more and I cannot thank them enough for the hard work that they have put in.

 

We will continue to post updates as we know more, and we hope that everyone stays safe and healthy.

 

From our family to yours
Charles Small
President/CEO

This is incredibly sad news, all around.

From Petapixel:

After suspending operations on March 21st in response to the spread of the coronavirus, Dury’s had planned to reopen on April 6th. That date was pushed back to April 27th, then May 11th, and finally May 25th before the decision to shut down was made.

 

Brick-and-mortar camera stores around the world had already been reeling from the rise of online shopping in recent years. The closure of Dury’s is almost certainly just one of many exits we’ll be seeing in the coming days, as the evonomic *(sic)* fallout from COVID-19 becomes the straw that breaks many a camel’s back.

Damn. Just damn. There’s nothing like being able to go to a physical store not only to actually hold and test the gear in your own hands, but to be able to speak with a truly knowledgeable salesperson. There simply is no substitute. Damn.