ROCKPORT, Texas — A Rockport, Texas, business celebrated a milestone Friday as they passed the ownership torch from one person to another.
"We did it for 20 years and we hope Dustin and family will be able to do it for another 20 years," original owner Lynn Woods said.
"She has blood, sweat and tears in this store, and I will too in the next 20 years if we're still here," new owner Dustin Richter said.
Woods and her husband built the Sears Hometown Store from the groun up and ran it successfully for two decades. Now in new hands, the tradition of hometown service will continue.
Richter explained the difference between the Sears Hometown Store and Sears department stores -- the hometown store is locally owned and operated.
"I have delivery guys who've been here for 13 years and that's a really big statement to say we still have these guys working," Richter said. "We're still helping the community by paying for the people who've been here. Keeping it open. Keeping it going."
"This is a very important part of our community," employee Greg Benefield said. "We don't actually look at people as customers, we look at them as friends."
The Hometown Store is located on Highway 35 and survived Hurricane Harvey nearly two years ago with just some broken windows and damaged inventory. Now their focus is getting Rockport residents back on their feet.
"'The house is finished. You can send my appliances out,'" Woods said. "I am so excited for them too because then that means someone got back in their homes two years after Harvey."
It's just another example of Rockport Strong.
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