Ryan Furniture in Havre de Grace will cease operations after doing business for over 75 years.

The owners of the home furnishings store revealed plans to cease operations in mid-May and will sell their 28,275-square-foot outpost at 2121 Pulaski Highway for $2.2 million, according to Lee & Associates, a commercial real estate brokerage and management firm in Columbia. It has not disclosed the new owner.

After opening the store in 1948, the family cited growing competition in the furniture industry, changing consumer tastes and living trends, and the age of the on-site owner as primary reasons for the decision to close. Recent escalations in shipping costs also created challenges for the business.

“It was time to close Ryan Furniture and sell the property,” said 76-year-old Jim Ryan, whose parents, Richard and Lillian Ryan, founded the current location in 1966.

Following a tour of duty in the Army, Richard Ryan first started selling furniture from a truck parked on the side of the road with an investment of $5, according to family lore. He built his first store using excess lumber from Aberdeen Proving Ground before acquiring farmland along Route 40 to build the second building that has housed operations for the past 60 years. Jim Ryan and his brother, Tom Ryan, also became part of the business.

Following the death of Tom in 2006, Jim Ryan assumed day-to-day control of company operations, and Ryan Furniture became a three-generation company after the hiring of his son, Mike Ryan, who worked as warehouse manager.

“The retail environment has changed considerably over the past eight decades, and single-store operators are finding it increasingly difficult to compete with national companies and their expansive purchasing power,” Jim Ryan said.

“Like many mom-and-pop operators, Ryan Furniture separated itself from the competition with unparalleled customer service, getting to know its clientele intimately and becoming immersed in the local community. But that formula can only work for so long as customers begin to make decisions based solely on price, unfortunately.”

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