An era in downtown Douglas is about to end.
Lott True Value Hardware, a fixture in Douglas for decades, is closing its doors. According to a Facebook post by JoAnne Hanna Lott, wife of owner Al Lott, Al has decided to retire. He will sell everything in the store in a large retirement sale, which will begin Thursday morning.
In her post, JoAnne wrote that Al’s father purchased the business from a Mr. Powers of Powers Hardware in 1957, the year Al was born. In 1989, Al bought the store from his father. He has spent nearly every day of his life in the store and he’s built quite a following. Al claims that if you want it, he’s got it. While that may not be true 100 percent of the time, it’s pretty close. Lott True Value has just about everything anyone could need, from nuts and bolts to fishing rods and guns to everything in between. On Thursday, Dec. 7, everything in the store will be made available at fantastic savings — just in time for Christmas.
Whether directly or indirectly, the closing of Lott True Value Hardware is but another sign of a changing retail landscape, particularly for rural Georgia. It marks the third major retail closing of the year inside the city and will leave a major void downtown.
