Rick Fried and Thea Dyal took ownership of the Sears Hometown Store in Astoria in 2015.

The owners of the Sears Hometown Store have closed up shop in Astoria, blaming issues with getting the right merchandise as the national retailer and its spinoff business continue a slow demise.

Rick Fried, a former information technology specialist with the Oregon Air National Guard, and Thea Dyal, an employee at Sears Hometown since 2003, took over the Marine Drive store downtown from Jim and Susan Montgomery in 2015.

The couple announced the closure this week with posters on the windows thanking customers for their support and a sheet of paper venting their frustration with not being able to get products being advertised to customers.

“We have worked around these issues to the best of our abilities for over a year, but we regret that Sears Hometown has not been able to resolve their issues nor provide sufficient merchandise to meet customer demand as well as their contractual obligations to us,” the note stated.

Sears, which filed for bankruptcy in 2018, is down to just over 400 Sears and Kmart stores nationwide. The national retailer spun off more than 1,000 Hometown and 120 Outlet stores in 2012 into Hometown and Outlet, a publicly traded company selling franchises around the U.S. Owners operate as independent franchises selling Sears merchandise. Hometown stores specialize in appliances, hardware and lawn care.

Dyal argues the Sears Hometown store was successful when they took over and still would be, if not for issues with getting the right inventory.

“I really don’t feel we were affected by Walmart, Home Depot or the internet,” she said.

The closure of Sears Hometown comes after downtown’s other national retail presence, J.C. Penney, closed in 2017 following the declining fortunes of the national retailer.

The Hometown and Outlet stores have similarly struggled as national retailers have downsized. By June, the number of Hometown stores had declined to fewer than 500. A Sears Hometown store in Scappoose recently closed, and another in Longview, Washington, is listed for sale.

Fried and Dyal are also selling the 13,000-square-foot building their store occupies on Marine Drive. The building includes a basement and loading docks facing a view of the Columbia River protected by nondevelopment zones recently approved by the City Council as part of the Riverfront Vision Plan guiding development along the Columbia River.

As for their next phase, Fried said Dyal is focusing on taking care of their young son.

“I’m thinking about getting into appliance repair, but I’ve also been offered a couple of jobs around the community,” he said. “We’re a desert wasteland of appliance repair, because there’s not a lot of people who do it, and it’s a needed service.”