Staple Silver Spring produce store ‘Country Boy’ to close after 68 years

SILVER SPRING, Md. (DC News Now) — Country Boy, a staple produce store in Montgomery County, will soon be closing its doors to customers.

In about two weeks, the aisles of Country Boy will be empty after the owner announced the store will be closing after 68 years of being open.

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The store opened in 1955 in Wheaton as a roadside stand before moving to its current Silver Spring location 28 years later.

James Barnsley, one of the owners of the store, says it’s time to trade in his time at the register to spend more time with his family.

“We had a tragic death of one of our three partners. One of them died in December last year. Four months ago, another one of our partners, my brother almost died from heart failure, and he would not be able to come back,” Barnsley said. “It’s just too much for me and my son to handle.”

Barnsley says he is happy about the support from the community, but with the store closing and no exact closing date, it leaves customers looking for a new place to shop.

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“It has a lot of history, so I remember the original Country Boy over by where the metro is now. It brings back good memories from when I was a kid,” said customer Brian Zuck.

Another customer, Matthew Sandoval said he’s “heartbroken.”

“It’s a communal thing, so you don’t think that this was going to go away anytime soon,” Sandoval said.

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