The foundering economy has claimed another mom-and-pop store.

Or in this case, a pop-and-son store.

The owners of Foster’s Country Store, on Frederick Road in Ellicott City, a store that, in one form or another, has been operating for a century, are going out of business at the end of June.

The building’s owner, Jim Foster, said he is looking for another tenant to maintain the space as a convenience store, but regular customers already are mourning a store the community has valued for its food and atmosphere.

“They had great sandwiches. Any food that they make is good, is excellent,” said Harold Pipes, 75, of West Friendship, who has gathered at Foster’s daily with several other retired men. He called the impending closing “a great disappointment and sorrow because we have a good time there. The people are good. They treat their customers excellent.”

Although it has century-old roots, Foster’s has been run since 1995 by Bill Davis, 66, and his son, Bill Davis Jr., 36.
 
When the younger Davis graduated from college with a business degree in 1994, he looked around for a job that would suit his degree. His father, a former math teacher and school administrator, chipped in and the two bought Foster’s Country Store in October 1995.
 
The Davises say the store is a casualty of the economy. The bulk of their business, they said, came from laborers in construction and landscaping at nearby homes, who would come in and buy lunch. When the economy went into decline, so did their clientele, they said.

“The sheer numbers aren’t what they used to be in terms of customers,” Davis Jr. said. “We were in a hole and decided not to go in further.”

It is not a unique story. Richard Story, chief executive officer of the Howard County Economic Development Authority, said the retail industry as a whole is being hit hard.

“A lot of the retail and service centers which are either consumable goods or durable goods, they’re down because people who have discretionary income are deciding not to spend it,” Story said. “Generally, retail is down, because the consumer confidence, which is a key factor, is down.”

Restaurants, he said, are being hit especially hard.
 
‘General store feel’

Ron Hoffman, 67, a lifelong West Friendship resident and one of the retirees who spends time at the store, said he was shocked to hear the store will close.

“We go down in the morning and stand around and talk,” he said. “There’s a lot of guys my age and older, and we stand around and talk, shoot the breeze.”
 
Hoffman said he has been familiar with the store for more than 60 years and has seen it operated as a garage, a butcher shop and most recently a convenience store.
 
Jody Perez, manager of the Pink Cabbage, an antiques store next to Foster’s, said she and her customers frequently shopped at Foster’s.

“It’s local, with a general store feel to it,” she said. “The food is wonderful.”

Jim Foster said the butcher shop operated in the 1940s, when it was the only place around to get meat. “From what I understand, people would line up down Frederick Road to get his meat,” Foster said.
 
When the Davises took over in 1995, the store was already a convenience store. The new owners expanded the deli, adding breakfast and lunch sandwiches. Today the store sells wine, liquor and sandwiches, and has gas pumps outside.

The Davises also instituted a “book exchange,” in which customers could leave their paperback books on a shelf, exchanging them for books left by other customers.

The store is truly a family affair: Elizabeth Davis, Bill Davis Sr.’s wife, works there, as does their son, Mike Davis.
 
The Davises aren’t sure what is next for them. The elder Davis is retired and does not need a job, but his son is looking for work, and hoping he can relocate his store to a different location.

As for the customers, they’re looking as well.

“I told Mrs. Davis, ‘When you close up I’m going to find out where you live and come to your house and get that chicken salad,’ ” Hoffman said.

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