RI general store, oldest in nation, set to close

Little Compton, R.I. (AP) — A general store in Rhode Island that state officials once proclaimed the oldest in the country is closing its doors after 224 years.

Gray's store in the Adamsville village in Little Compton opened in 1788 and has been in continuous operation ever since. It's set to close on Sunday.

Owner Jonah Waite inherited the store after his father died last month. But the 21-year-old senior at the University of Hartford in Connecticut wants to be a sports journalist instead of a general store owner, and he's selling the property.

Waite says his father, Grayton Waite, intended the sell the store, and he believes his father would have approved of his actions.

Waite says the store has seen 10 times the usual amount of customers since the closing was announced.