On Saturday morning, as people headed into Northern Hardware on Third Avenue, hot dogs and hamburgers were already sizzling on the barbecue as early as 10 a.m. and the flame continued to grill until 2 p.m. during the Northern's customer appreciation event.
Kelly Green, president of Northern Hardware, was outside on the chilly morning serving up food and reassuring customers who were concerned that the doors were closing at the end of February.
"My voice has been hoarse from reassuring so many customers that it was really OK that the Northern is closing," she said. "Staff will move on to find jobs and they'll be at the stores where people are shopping at."
The customer appreciation event was held to give back to the people who have been so loyal to the Northern all these years.
"We appreciate the customers coming in and this is our way of saying thank you," Green said. "Whenever we do something like this it goes over really well and we were hoping people would come down and share their shopping experiences at Northern Hardware and this is just a small thank you for 100 amazing years."
Liz and George Haley have been shopping at the Northern since 1975.
"Northern Hardware is why we moved to Prince George," Liz said. "We were headed to Dawson Creek but after George walked into Northern Hardware he told me we were going to stay here."
George was a general practitioner until he retired five years ago and now teaches at the Northern Medical Program at the university. In 1975, he was in Prince George for two weeks helping out while another doctor went on vacation. After the two week stay they were moving on to Dawson Creek. They were from Southern California and wanted a change.
"It even gets more complicated - our first house we bought here was the old Moffat house at the corner of Moffat and Hammond," Liz said.
A coin toss determined who was going to buy the old home between two family members and Liz and George spent the next 10 years in that house having their children, living their lives and going to Northern Hardware.
They kept returning to the Northern for all their needs because of the exceptional customer service.
Liz shared a prime example.
"When we moved here I was 22 and I wanted a boat," she said. "But we didn't know what kind of boat to get."
They were thinking about getting a small aluminum boat for recreational purposes.
When one of the Moffats asked what they wanted to do with the boat, Liz knew exactly the answer.
"So I told him that when we had kids I wanted them to go for joy rides and hang over the edge," Liz said. "He told us that we didn't want what they sold - they sold flat bottomed boats - and that we should go to Howie's Marine to get a boat with a V-shaped bottom. So we took our $700 and went to Howie's Marine. And that told me the Northern was our go-to place. That they will be honest and they will send your $700 away to buy something that suits you."
Liz said she has modeled her own life after that example and she's told that story too many times to count because it epitomizes what customer service and caring is all about and that's Northern Hardware.
George and Liz said they could tell a hundred more stories just like that one and that's what kept them coming back year after year, decade after decade.
"We are heartbroken the Northern is closing," Liz said.
