The fresh scent of Fraser firs filled the cold, damp air outside of Family Affair Produce and Garden Center on Frederick Road.
Once the trees are sold, that will be the end for the longtime Catonsville business, which has been open at its current location for nearly eight years after starting out on Edmondson Avenue 23 years ago.
The family relocated the business from a smaller space across the street next to Dimitri's International Grille, said Tony Poleski Jr., 40, owner of the store.
"The expense of running the business got high," Poleski said. "I'm going to work for a friend of mine in the same business at Frank's Produce in Columbia."
While varieties of red, green and yellow apples filled the shelves, along with potatoes and squash, last week, the produce selection is slowly dwindling, as it often does in the winter months. The store, which sells flowers, Christmas trees, wreaths and ornaments and pumpkins, in addition to fresh locally grown produce, will close its doors Saturday, Dec. 20, Poleski said.
The business was established by Poleski's father, who still works in the store.
The elder Poleski, who chatted from behind the register with customers last week, and his wife, Doris Ann "Danny", began the business Edmondson Avenue in a produce cart next to Tastee Zone, an ice cream shop that they owned for three years, Poleski Jr. said.
The couple had a produce cart on the side of the road for about a year before opening their business next to Dimitri's, he said.
That location was open for 17 years, he said.
Before becoming a businessman, Poleski Sr. said he worked about 10 different jobs, beginning with shoveling snow when he was 9.
Known well by his customers for his friendly demeanor, Poleski Sr., said he'll miss talking to the customers and seeing the friends he's made through the business.
One of those is Burk Barrett, 79, a longtime customer and friend. The two men talked to as the neighbor's yellow lab sat in the doorway, lazily greeting customers.
The dog chomped down a potato tossed to him by Barrett, prompting a laugh from both men.
"I'll miss not only the fellowship with these guys, but the great produce and flowers," Barrett said.
Poleski Sr. said he'll miss the relationships he has built with customers like Barrett over the years.
"There are a lot of good people in Catonsville," he said, standing behind the register.
"Small businesses don't have a very good chance of surviving," said Doris Ann Poleski, "But in Catonsville we did very well. They just took to us and were loyal to us."
Catonsville resident Robert Gromlinson, 70, of Catonsville, has been a customer of the store for more than 15 years.
"It's a real benefit [to the community] to have this store," Gromlinson said. "They have a good, quality product at a nice price, and there are nice people here."
The store will continue to sell the 700 Christmas trees, that range in price from $15 to $95, as they have since they opened, Poleski Jr. said.
"We have a lot of local people come from Catonsville and Ellicott City," Poleski Jr. said. "It's usually the same people each year."
Doris Ann Poleski called closing the business "bittersweet".
"Both of us have worked since we were 13, 14 years old," Doris Ann said. "We're kind of ready to kick back."
But customers who appreciate the fresh, locally grown produce and the employees who sell it may still be able to buy sweet corn, tomatoes and other fresh produce the family is known for.
"I've got three different spots already asking me [to sell produce]," Poleski Sr. said. "In fact, I could probably go back to where I started it, over by Dimitri's."