Sixty-seven years later, members of the Mirvish family are still willing to give the shirt off their back to their customers. Literally.

Honest Ed’s held its 67th anniversary celebration on Sunday, and longtime customer Coreen Lewis was disappointed she didn’t arrive in time to get one of the shirts handed out to the first 500 customers. She wasn’t crestfallen for long, though — when David Mirvish got wind of her letdown, he pulled off his own commemorative T-shirt and handed it over.

“We don’t like to see people go home disappointed,” said Mirvish, the son of the store’s legendary founder Ed Mirvish himself.

It’s that kind of salesmanship that has kept Honest Ed’s in business for so long — and that kind of customer service that will be missed when it closes in December 2016.

The store was as crowded as always on Sunday, with bargain hunters and curious visitors alike sorting through bins and sharing stories. Among them was Diana Matheson, who worked at the store 40 years ago as her first part-time job.

Matheson said Ed’s was still much like she remembers it, and as busy as ever.

“We used to have to wipe out the clothes bins and restock them every night, that’s how fast we would sell out,” she said.

Low prices are a sales-driving hallmark of the store to this day — just ask Mirvish and he’ll happily display the leather loafers on his feet.

“These are going for 67 cents a pair,” he said. “We’ve sold 350 pairs today.”

In 2016 the block at the corner of Bloor and Bathurst streets will be transformed into restaurants, retail space and rental housing. The neighbourhood might be moving on, but for longtime staff and customers, letting go of the store won’t be so easy.

Bill Humphries said he used to come to the store with his dad during its “heyday” in the 1950s.

“We had Simpson’s and Eaton’s and they were pretty nice, but you come here and you could get a hotdog and a drink in the underwear department,” he said. “Where else can you get that?”

General manager Russell Lazar has been with the store for 56 years.

He said his fondest memories are of the “outlandish promotions” the store is famous for.

Lazar’s highlights included a 72-hour dance marathon, a 48-hour swing marathon and an elephant sale.

“We painted an elephant pink, but then we realized it was plugging up the pores and had to wash it off quick before the elephant suffocated,” he recalled with a smile.

Lazar said the store’s final 17 months will be full of celebration and fun. “We’re not going quietly,” he added.

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Mirvish agreed.

“It’s a celebration. It means that other people will share my memories and will carry that with them,” he said. “In the end, we don’t really own much else.”

That’s a big statement coming from a man who sells everything.