Buffeted by a poor economy and other economic factors, Terry Wrinkle pulled the plug on his resurrected Wrink’s Market off old Route 66 in Lebanon, Mo., and closed it in mid-June.
Wrinkle reopened Wrink’s Market in June 2007 after his father and the store’s longtime owner, Glenn “Wrink” Wrinkle, died in 2005 at age 82. Terry Wrinkle even brought back his father’s beloved freshly made sandwiches, made famous by the effusive praises from national radio host Paul Harvey.
Terry Wrinkle said he started to see sales plummet after September 2008, when the nation’s economic problems became acute. He said his business also was hurt by utility rates and other rising costs, and the difficulty with a small business such as his in finding a distributor for products he sold. He said he also was dealing with stiff competition with three other convenience stores within a mile of his location. So he closed the store June 12 and auctioned its equipment June 16.
“There’s no (profit) margins left,” he said. “Everything was working against me to keep it open. I got out while I could still get money on my equipment.”
Wrinkle also said it was tough to commute 35 miles each day from his home in Marshfield, Mo., to the store, especially when gasoline reached nearly $4 a gallon last summer. He considered selling his home and moving to Lebanon, but the bursting of the real-estate bubble last year kept that from happening, too.
Still, Terry Wrinkle said, he had few regrets about resurrecting the store.
“I’m glad I opened it for two years, and it was a lot of fun,” he said. “There was no closure when dad died. With it open, I learned a lot about dad and my family, and we had some really nice things happen … especially with the (Missouri Route 66) Motor Tour.”
Wrinkle said he figures that someone who lives near Wrink’s Market could make a tidy living from it. Those interested in buying or leasing the store should call him at 417-880-3183.
Oh, this makes me so sad. Seems like only yesterday that I went to the Grand ReOpening.