NORFOLK, New York (WWNY) – After more than a century in business, the last grocery store in the town of Norfolk is closing its doors.

Al Smith’s Suprette in Norfolk first opened in 1907, and was passed down through generations of the Smith family.

Today, it’s co-owned by siblings Tammy Villnave, David Smith, and Karen DeCare.

“When we turned seven, we got to stand on a milk crate and cut meat with Dad,” Villnave said. “He would have us cut meat right at the meat block.”

Their father was Al Smith, who took over from his dad in the 1950s. He helped out at the store until his wife, Peggy, died in 2021. Al died one month later.

“It took the umph out of the store, and that was our hub. We lost that. It’s hard for me and Karen to come into work every day and not have them here, so we tried, and we did. It’ll be four years this year, and now it’s time to start a new chapter,” said Villnave.

The siblings still own the building and will continue renting the apartments above the store while looking for potential buyers. Villnave and DeCare said they are both appreciative of employee and community support throughout the years.

“We were very fortunate that the people, the town, in-town, and out-of-town supported us 100 percent because a lot of the smaller stores did not make it, and we were thankful for that and those times,” DeCare said.

The store is open for the last time Saturday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m., closing a book on more than 100 years of tradition in Norfolk.

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