The shelves might have been almost empty, but the handmade thank you signs affixed to the front window were filled right up.

Boushey's Fruit Market, a fixture on the corner of Elgin and Waverley streets for 70 years, closed its doors Sunday for the last time.

The store has been run by three generations of the same family since 1946.

An emotional day at Boushey's Fruit Mart, as the grocery store closes after seven decades on Elgin <a href="https://t.co/hCnj2qwxRS">pic.twitter.com/hCnj2qwxRS</a> —@tcpritchard

Mark Boushey says they didn't even put these thank you signs up on the front window. They appeared overnight. <a href="https://t.co/6Aqur6EoQI">pic.twitter.com/6Aqur6EoQI</a> —@tcpritchard

"It's a really really sad day in our community," said Rosy Marhin, who had shopped at Boushey's since 1991. She was one of dozens of people who came by the store Sunday afternoon to bid a final farewell.

"They've supported local businesses, buying things from other people and selling them in here, giving them a chance to do something with their lives, as well. So it's a big, big, big loss, you know."

'A lot of emotions'

Brothers and co-owners Mark and Peter Boushey announced in May that they would be retiring and closing the store at the end of July.

Mark Boushey, who started working at the store in 1981, sliced up pieces of cake Sunday afternoon and offered up hugs to customers who stopped by one last time.

"There's a lot of emotions. There's a lot of people coming in, a lot of longtime customers. So it's sort of making me emotional at the same time, too. I'm trying to hold it together," he said.

"You can really feel the love and appreciation. It's amazing."

Still a few items for sale; co-owner Mark Boushey says any leftover groceries will go to the foodbank <a href="https://t.co/OR69HXsf7B">pic.twitter.com/OR69HXsf7B</a> —@tcpritchard

And the iconic Boushey's sign will stay in the family, I'm told <a href="https://t.co/jFqWC6VMEh">pic.twitter.com/jFqWC6VMEh</a> —@tcpritchard

Family member Victor Ezerzer drove up from Montreal and got to see Boushey's Saturday for the first time. <a href="https://t.co/d58ptkXkkv">pic.twitter.com/d58ptkXkkv</a> —@tcpritchard

Victor Ezerzer, Peter Boushey's brother-in-law, drove up from Montreal and on Saturday saw the inside of the store for the first time.

"It's funny, in 14 years I've never come to the store. Always come to the house, always talk about the store, always drive by the store," he said.

"From Montreal, all the way down, people have heard about the Boushey name ... I find it a little sad that the name [won't] continue, but at the same time, they have to move on, you know?"

Retirement beckons

The Bousheys have said it's the appeal of retirement — not financial reasons — that made them want to close the store. The family owns the building, and they're still working on finding a new tenant to take over.

Sunday, though, was about remembering the past seven decades and all the customers who'd walked through the glass doors over the years.

"It's the people who make [it] worth coming in in the morning, you know what I mean? You develop relationships with all these people," Mark Boushey said.

"They feel like family to you."

Boushey's isn't closing for financial reasons. The family owns the building; Mark says they have plans for the space <a href="https://t.co/z9fKlCJigm">pic.twitter.com/z9fKlCJigm</a> —@tcpritchard