Loomis Camera owner calling it quits after decades in downtown Elyria

ELYRIA, Ohio - Loomis Camera has graced downtown Elyria for more than 60 years. Owner Howard Foxman said, "It is time to call it quits."

Foxman was a young and upcoming entrepreneur. He moved from Youngstown, Ohio, to Elyria in 1950. That is when he purchased Loomis Camera.

Loomis Camera has been a fixture in downtown Elyria. It is known for its trademark camera on the front of the building. Over the years, newer models have graced the building. The one adorning the building now is a Pentax 35 mm. The city has had issues with the camera gracing the building -- it wanted him to take it down. The residents in the area rallied around him and won the city over.

Through the decades, Foxman has seen much change in the newer technology of the camera. He survived through the good times and bad times.

The one constant that Foxman attributes his success to is customer service. He always greets the patrons with a smile, answering what ever questions the customer has -- no matter how small.

Foxman said that he has given small children their first camera and still sees them decades later and that gives him great satisfaction.

He's closing because a fire next door damaged the building -- and the building owner wants him to move his stuff out while the space is rehabbed. But Foxman, 91, said he's too old to deal with moving everything out and back in again.

Despite the closing, Foxman does not plan on slowing down. Loomis Camera -- the store -- may be closing but he plans on keeping up the business through ebay.

Loomis Camera will be closing at the end of September