A longtime Lompoc business has closed its doors for good.
Located off H Street near the Valley Drive-in, Valley Rock has sold landscape and building supplies since 1980, according to Michael Cummings.
Cummings has owned the business for the last 15 years and calls the closure tough and “a sad moment,” adding that with the economy, freight prices, his lease and other overhead, he just couldn’t make ends meet anymore.
“I should have closed the doors down five years ago but I kept hanging on because I have a love for this place, but I can’t do it anymore,” Cummings told KSBY.
He cited freight prices as being “through the roof,” with it costing $175 an hour to bring in rock. Cummings says he couldn’t justify charging customers such a high amount to cover freight prices. “It’s not ethical, it’s not human,” he said.
With the store pretty much empty and his equipment sold, Cummings is wrapping up the final details so he can leave with a “complete clean slate.”
He says notifying his four employees about the closure was difficult, adding that he took money out of his retirement to help pay them.
Cummings says overall, he’s just really hurt and when asked what he’d say to the customers who supported him over the years, he replied, “I love them. This is my community.”
Cummings says he does not know what future plans may be for the leased property.
