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CHICAGO — Cas Hardware Store in Andersonville is closing its doors after 41 years.

The owner, Cornel Ladan, who immigrated to Chicago from Yugoslavia said he loves helping his customers at 5305 N. Clark St. and loves bringing old things back to life. He said he’s gotten to know his customers, many of whom come in to give him a hug or a nice card — small tokens of appreciation for a man who has been behind the counter since 1979.

While the inside of the neighborhood staple hasn’t changed, the outside has. That area in Andersonville once lined with vintage buildings is now being replaced by condos, which has the bell at the store ringing a little less.

Cornel said he began thinking he was ready for a vacation — seeing as he never missed a day of work in the past 41 years.

“Now I’m going to go on vacation for good,” he said.

Clearance signs have gone up at the store — a final farewell to an Andersonville icon.

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