Evans Lumber to close in West Virginia

According to an article in the Marietta Times, Evans Lumber Co. in South Charleston, W. Va., is closing at the end of the month after 82 years as a family-run business. 

The third-generation family business hit problems that grew from a poor economy, competition and changing customer habits.

Owner Don Evans described one of the problems to the newspaper this way: "Independents are more sensitive to their customers' needs, where big-box stores are sensitive to what product they can sell for a good profit. We're suffering from the very thing we pushed for so many years," he said. "We have people who call our salespeople for questions, then buy at Lowe's." 

According to the article, Don’s father, Walter “Pat” Evans, never missed a day of work. Pat died in 1995. The store took on its Do it Best branding in 1996.