Daugherty Hardware & Appliances, a fixture in Duluth for more than a century, will close its doors in May, but its appliance service department will continue to operate under the ownership of the current service manager.
SMDC Health System agreed to buy the property, after being approached by store owners Scott and Terry Lundberg, and will probably use the 52,000-square-foot building as office space for support services such as information technology, public relations or other non-medical functions.
Terry Lundberg said that declining sales and rising expenses for several years prompted the decision to close.
Employees will be given severance pay.
