After 154 years, Aurora store closes

After 154 years of operations, one of the oldest businesses in Aurora has shut its doors for good.

The Builders Supply Co. called it quits Saturday, saying the proliferation of nearby big-box hardware outlets, an economic slowdown and a developer's offer too good to refuse was behind the move.

Jim Solfisburg, who co-owns the family business with his cousin, John, said business in the last year and a half had not been great.

Although Builders Supply has been on the east bank of the Fox River since 1956, the company and Solfisburg family have been entwined with Aurora history since 1854.

When it opened, Aurora was only 17 years past its official founding, Illinois had a population of a little more than 3 million and Franklin Pierce was president of the United State.