MARTINS FERRY — After nearly 48 years of service, Christian Village at 6 N. Fourth Street in Martins Ferry is going out of business.

Originally opened in 1976, its main business has been to sell directly to the churches around the Martins Ferry area.

“The internet came and took away a lot of business. My type of business, there used to be 14 different stores and I’m the last one left. The industry has changed,” owner and operator Jim Brown said.

Brown, who is approaching his 70th birthday, has decided to retire.

Christian Village is a faith-based store that offers greeting cards, candles, church bulletins, CDs, VHS tapes, DVDs, books and other miscellaneous items.

“I have a couple other jobs and I just have to give something up, and this isn’t producing much anymore,” he said.

Although Christian Village does not have a closing date, it is offering discounts throughout the entire store. The lack of a confirmed closing date is due to the plethora of merchandise Brown has on hand at the store.

Brown said that he wouldn’t be opposed to people offering a different amount for items due to the fact that he has so much inventory and a decent portion of it is considered to be out of date.

“Stop in, it’s 75% off of everything you can carry out of here,” Brown said while speaking about what he would like to tell the community.

Aside from the various items that are sold at the store, it also is a location that is a pay station where people are able to pay their gas and electric bills.

This coming November would mark 48 years of business for Christian Village. Brown believes that his store is one of the longest-running retail stores in the city of Martins Ferry.

Its original location was on Hanover Street where Sudsy’s Auto Wash is located.

“I drove down there one day and saw an empty storefront and just asked about renting it, and they said,’ Sure, why not,’ so I just started filling it up,” Brown said.

In 1980 Christian Village moved to its current location. Brown believes it was formerly the headquarters for a coal company.

When asked what his best-selling item is, Brown said, “Right now, not much of anything. When people switched to ordering on the internet, that really knocked out a lot of businesses through the valley and probably elsewhere, too.”

To adapt with the times, Brown created an online store for Christian Village but after not finding success over a couple years, he decided to redirect his focus on in-store sales.

“A couple jobs outside of here is what’s kept me going,” Brown said while speaking about keeping the lights on during slow periods for the store.

Brown works as a stocker for American Greetings greeting card company. He supplies 14 stores with their inventory of greeting cards.

Christian Village is open 9:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday until it officially closes its doors.

Brown said after the store closes he plans on continuing to work two other jobs until he is able to fully retire.