Goldstock's in Glenville to hold liquidation sale

PHOTOGRAPHER: Marc Schultz

Goldstock's Sporting Goods on Freeman's Bridge Road in Glenville is shown Wednesday, April 3, 2019.

GLENVILLE — When Goldstock’s Sporting Goods abruptly closed its doors without explanation in August, many wondered if the century-old business would ever reopen.

The town supervisor said at the time the owner wanted to reopen, and the closure notice posted in the store window and on Facebook said “until further notice” rather than “permanently.”

But it is permanent.

Goldstock’s will hold a liquidation sale of all its inventory starting Saturday, then the building will be sold, according to a now-former employee of the Freemans Bridge Road business.

Former sales manager Andy Kausch said the liquidation sale will be held from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. daily from April 6 to 14. He said he’ll be on site every day except the first day because the liquidator running the sale wanted someone on site with knowledge of the merchandise.

Goldstock’s was founded in downtown Schenectady in 1896 and run by the Goldstock family for more than eight decades. Kausch’s father bought it with a partner 35 years ago and later moved the business to Glenville.

Glenville Town Supervisor Chris Koetzle said Wednesday he was sad to learn the local landmark wouldn’t be reopening. Some people still held out hope, he said, and asked him a few times a week what he knew about the situation.

“It’s defnitely an iconic business in the town,” he said.

“After eight, nine months, I’ve contemplated everything,” Andy Kausch told The Daily Gazette on Tuesday. “There’s no way to continue the business the way the economy is structured in 2019.”

By which he doesn’t mean there’s a recession — he means too much retail activity has migrated away from brick-and-mortar stores like Goldstock’s toward online retailers.

Mike Kausch, who later became sole owner of the business, didn’t want to comment on its demise, his son said.

“One of the things he said is that he wanted to make sure he thanked all of his customers and the people in the community for all the loyal support and all that they’ve done for Goldstock’s,” Andy Kausch said.

The merchandise left in the store will all be up for sale over the nine-day event, some of it deeply discounted, according to advertisements. The rental ski equipment is already gone — Maple Ski Ridge bought it and Andy Kausch ran the rental/repair shop there this past season.

Right out of high school, he moved to Utah and worked as needed so he could ski 250 days a year. After five years, he decided to come home and get a college degree so he could work for Goldstock’s.

2019 found him working slopeside again.

“One family business to another. They are great people to work for,” he said of the Rotterdam ski area.