The owner of the iconic West Hartford business, a fixture in the Hartford area for nearly 150 years, is retiring and closing the store.

The owner of Plimpton’s is retiring and the nearly-150-year-old store will close. Photo credit: Ronni Newton

By Ronni Newton

The sign above the doorway of Plimpton’s at 991 Farmington Ave. in West Hartford reads “since 1865,” but the store that began in Hartford as a purveyor of office supplies and stationery just as the Civil War was ending now has bright pink and green paper covering its windows and signs declaring that everything, including the fixtures, must be sold.

According to a notice on the Plimpton’s website, the store will remain closed through Wednesday, Nov. 12, and will reopen on Thursday, Nov. 13, at 10 a.m. for a “HUGE Retirement/Store Closing Sale.” The message on the website, and on the store’s answering machine, declares: “Everything is on sale, everything must be sold.”

The owner of Plimpton’s could not be reached for comment on Monday.

According to an article written in 2012 by Nancy Newman, Plimpton’s had adapted to the modern era by getting out of the office supply business and instead focusing on Connecticut’s largest selection of fine pens, as well as high-end luggage, stationery, gifts, and handbags.

Plimpton’s moved from Hartford to West Hartford in the 1930s, and was first located at the corner of Farmington Avenue and LaSalle Road in the space now occupied by Lululemon. The current owner, Dan Zuckerman, owned the store for more than 20 years.