WOODINVILLE, Wash. — A Woodinville staple welcomed its last customer Sunday.
Molbak's Garden and Home is closing permanently after 67 years.
"They're going to be missed so much, by so many,” said Maureen Williams visiting Molbak’s one final time. “It's a great loss."
Molbak's Garden and Home is a Woodinville favorite, once filled with life.
"Just a couple months ago it was full of poinsettias and tons of people,” Williams said. “It's heartbreaking to see it like this now."
The closure comes after the landlords were planning a Gardens District project, which was set to be a privately funded 19-acre development in the heart of Woodinville to create apartments, retailers and restaurants within a garden space. A new Molbak's location was going to be built as a part of the project and be a featured aspect of the new neighborhood.
The developer said interest rates and construction costs drove the project to be scrapped.
"It's hard to believe that it's not going to be here anymore," Lynnelle Larson said. "It makes me sad, I think it had a real family atmosphere and it was just an institution like everyone came here in order to get your garden started, do your mom's day flower shopping."
"We are so honored to have shared this journey with each of you," Julie Kouhia, the CEO of Molbak's, said in a statement on Jan. 26. "For almost 70 years you've allowed Molbak's to grow into the one-of-a-kind place it has become, built on flowers, friendship and family."
"Thank you for all the years,” Williams. “Just the beauty that they brought to Woodinville, the surrounding communities and to our own yards."