CLALLAM BAY — Even though Clallam Bay Grocery will close as soon as its few remaining products are sold, co-owner Janet Gamet continues to make sure the coolers are clean and almost barren shelves organized.
As shoppers slowly drift in and out of the store on U.S. Highway 101, Gamet said it has been a long process in accepting the store’s fate.
She said she has taken the reins while her business partner and former husband Vance Gamet collects his thoughts.
“He’s worked since he was 14 years old and he’s 52,” Janet said.
“It’s just — I just feel really bad for him,” Janet said, her voice faltering as she tried to hold back the tears.
Owing the state more than $24,000 in back taxes on the store and being three years behind on property taxes for their house, the Gamets will not only lose their business, but also their home.
“We’re losing everything,” Janet said.
“What used to come in threes, I don’t know, it’s thirty-three now,” she said.
Grocery purchased in 1994
The Gamets bought the store in 1994 after working for more than 20 years at Safeway supermarkets in Seattle.
The move to Clallam Bay provided an opportunity for the Gamets to be their own bosses and raise their son in a small community, Janet said.
The Gamet’s son graduated from Clallam Bay High School last year.
“My son, this is home to him,” Janet said. “It has just hurt us a lot.”
Although it feels like they are losing a dream, Janet said Wednesday marked a day of acceptance for her when she officially announced the start of the store’s close-out sale.
Everything is 25 percent off and Janet said she’ll see where it goes from there.
The closing of Clallam Bay Grocery, the main store for Clallam Bay and Sekiu, hasn’t just hit the Gamet family hard, but both communities.
When the store closes, it will be the third major loss of business for the almost 1,200 people who live in and near the two communities.
The only pharmacy in Clallam Bay and Sekiu closed in 1999 and the only bank closed in early 2005.
