DAYTON, Ohio — It’s known as "the first place to look for every last thing."

Mendelsons has been a big part of Dayton’s history since 1960.

But as the saying goes, all good things must come to an end. Owner Sandy Mendelson has sold the warehouse to a Dublin-based developer.

  • Mendelsons has been sold to Crawford-Hoying, a Dublin realty group that plans on turning the warehouse into a multiuse property
  • Mendelsons has been around since 1960, and the building is 600,000 sq.ft.
  • The store will close Aug.1, allowing them 30 days to clear the floor before their deadline of Sept.1

The doors will close in August. But owner Sandy Mendelson wants his business to be remembered as a place where ingenuity and creativity was born.  

He’s been making deals in Dayton his entire life. 

But now after 60 years, he’s decided it was time to close shop and finally take a break.  

“I’m 76 years old. Worked 6-7 days a week — I’m tired,” Mendelson said. “I’m just… I’m wore out.”

So Mendelson decided to sell the 600,000 square foot location to Crawford-Hoying Realty for $7.8 million back in October, marking the start of what will be the end of an era that’s spanned his entire life. 

“Am I upset about it? Yeah, I’ve been upset the last three or four days,” he said. “Because I’m killing a dynasty.” 

For the community. it’s been a resource for parts to repair broken electronics or household items.

And even artists as famous as Dayton legend Willis “Bing” Davis, would use Mendelsons as a treasure trove of options to spark creativity and create every and anything imaginable. Because as Mendelson says, “One man’s junk, is another man’s gold.”

But over the next six months, Mendelsons has a tremendous task on its hands. They have to clear out the building by September 1.

So, they plan to have clearance sales and auctions, and will even be donating to Goodwill or The Salvation Army, to clear out the tremendous amount of items that they still have on-hand across the facility.

“It has to go somewhere for need,” Mendelson said. “I don’t want to see it in some warehouse hid away. I wanna make sure it goes to people, I’m giving it free and everything. All they gotta do is provide the labor to get it out of the building and into their trucks.” 

The last day of business for Mendelsons will be Aug. 1, 2020, to allow them 30 days to clear the floor for their move-out date of Sept. 1.