It is extraordinarily sad to see the Muenzer’s sporting goods shop close after 102 years in operation, as some family members continue on with the locksmith portion of the business.
Above anything, the Muenzer family deserves credit for building a small business and tradition that lasted more than a century. Although the sporting goods business will be sorely missed, its historic legacy will remain intact for decades, if not centuries, to come.
The endurance of Muenzer’s is a remarkable accomplishment in itself – a legacy launched by current President Jerry Muenzer’s grandfather, a man the county supervisor referred to in an interview with the Free Lance as a “Jack of all trades.” Under his grandfather, the business evolved in its early years and offered everything from bicycles to lawnmowers to big toys when those became the hot trend.
In the end, the evolution of the sporting goods and retail industries – along with the Internet’s growth – contributed to the demise of a business that found its niche as somewhere that was small, the kind of place where you always knew the workers behind the register, where local shoppers sacrificed some convenience and choice in favor of comfort and familiarity.
After 102 years, time simply caught up with Muenzer’s. Consumers had too many other choices – and in recent years, not enough discretionary income – to provide the level of sales volume needed for small businesses like Muenzer’s, and the Fortino’s furniture store before it, to be sustained.
Muenzer pointed to the Great Recession and Hollister’s six-year building moratorium as contributors as well. They, however, merely exposed the economic realities facing the store – which were compounded by the arrival of a big box giant, Big 5, and the increasing popularity of Target and many shops in nearby Gilroy.
In any case, Muenzer’s wasn’t the first long-lasting business to close and it won’t be the last.
For 102 years in business – and for so many contributions to the community as merchants and philanthropists – the people behind Muenzer’s, the family members who kept it running strong despite many roadblocks along the way, deserve no less than thanks for a great, enduring run.
