RACINE, Wis. — Declaring that someone is an expert isn’t something to be done lightly. However, Barry Sanders has most definitely earned the title when it comes to paint.

He has spent much of his life mixing, matching and selling paint out of the family business.

Sanders’ father founded Sanders Paint back in 1963. On a quiet morning, you can find Sanders in the back mixing paint, a task he has come to know well over the years.

“I don’t know how many gallons, but I started matching paint for my dad back in the early 70s,” said Sanders.

While the paint business has been a nearly lifelong endeavor, it will soon be time to call it a career. Sanders plans to close the shop in early 2023.

Sanders and his business partner have been trying to retire for some time. He said they had hoped to sell the store so that it could continue to operate. However, that hasn’t come to fruition.

“It is tough to sell a store,” said Sanders. “With the economy, the paint shortages, all summer long it has been extremely difficult to get paint. So, that has made it hard.”

The store has survived lots of changes over the last 59 years, including recessions, changing customer tastes and the advent of the big box hardware store.

However, not being able to get enough supply over the last two years has created an unprecedented level of stress.

“There were times I would order 300 gallons of paint and I would get 20 or 30. That makes it hard to do business,” said Sanders.

Long-time customers are sorry to see the shop go.

When John Halberstadt popped in the store to get a gallon of paint, he told employees a story about how he remembers riding his bike past the shop when he was just nine years old.

“Sad to see,” said Halberstadt about the shop’s closing. “You get the kind of service you would never get and the knowledge that goes behind working at one place for so many years.”

While Sanders said he’s looking forward to retirement, he said he’ll miss interacting with customers. He said he hopes the legacy his father created, and he carried on, will continue long after the “closed” sign is hung for the last time.

“I hope he [dad] would be proud of me, but he passed away 12 years ago,” said Sanders. “We miss him, but I hope he is proud of me.”

Sanders has not set an exact closing date for the store, but it will likely be in the early part of 2023. The building is currently for sale.