The Heart of Virginia will lose a staple of the community when Ayers Building and Supply Co. Inc. closes its doors.

As reported last week, the well-known family-owned building supply business is set to close after the summer months, though a definite time frame for the store’s closure has not been established.

“It’s been a family business and we have three children,” co-owner Beverly Ayers said of the establishment — one that’s been in operation since 1948, serving Farmville and the surrounding area with pride, honesty and trust.

This community will certainly miss the business and all it’s provided and offered to the public over the years.

The parents of co-owner Lynn Ayers — Beverly’s husband — opened the store in 1948.

It seems family-run businesses, especially ones handed down by generations before, are becoming rarer and rarer these days.

As we’ve said in the past, small businesses like Ayers Building and Supply are the backbone of the economy, providing jobs while supporting the area’s tax base and enriching the community. Ayers has done this and so much more.

Beverly told us the time has come for she and Lynn to retire from the business.

The goodwill, customer service and respect the Ayers family has shown the community through their business should be looked upon by other businesses, both small and big in the community, as a lesson to follow in how to treat their customers and support the business community.