The sign outside Mayo Garden Centers read “Final Days” as cars passed along Kingston Pike. 

Inside, shiny rubber rain boots lined the shelves, and the hum of an oscillating fan filled the store. Patio furniture garnered the attention of curious couples browsing the closing sale. 

“We’ve been selling fun for 148 years,” owner Elizabeth Cox said as she sat in her office surrounded by old photographs, documents and awards. “Everything in here has been about having a good time.” 

Founded in 1878, Mayo Garden Centers started as a seed store across the street from the historic Tennessee Theatre. The business also functioned as a department and grocery store for locals and published and distributed a seed catalog across the Southeast. Over time, it grew into a retail destination, selling “everything from animals to color TVs.” 

Along the way, the store became a pillar of the Knoxville community, employing generations of workers from high school and college students starting their first jobs to retirees seeking flexible hours. 

“We have been upwards of 1000 people’s first job,” Cox said. “We’ve also been 100 plus people’s last job, because we’ve employed a lot of seniors that have wanted to work part time. It’s kind of cool that we’ve been the beginning and the end.”

Now, that sense of coming full circle extends to the business itself. 

Cox is the fifth generation to lead the company, keeping the long, unbroken family succession. That lineage would prove to be a large part of the stores’ closing. 

She emphasized the business remains strong, but with no sixth generation prepared to take over, the family saw an opportunity to conclude its story on its own terms. 

“With no sixth generation to come, it just seemed like a good time to close,” Cox said. 

She described the closing as the end of a meaningful chapter. The business will end right where it began: with the family. 

“We would not consider selling it to anyone else,” Cox said. “Our name means something to us.”

That commitment extends to their employees, many who have worked across generations. 

“Sometimes we’ve employed the grandfather, the dad and the grandson.” Cox said. “So we’ve had generations working for us.”

As the store winds down, Cox said the focus remains on supporting those employees. Most proceeds from the closing sale will go toward severance packages to help staff transition.

“We’re trying to do everything that we can to give them the opportunity to have time to find a job,” Cox said.

After nearly a century and a half, Cox said the store’s impact goes beyond its products. It lives on in the memories of its customers and employees. 

“We’ve tried our best to treat our customers right and do the right thing, and that’s why we’ve stayed in business for so long,” she said. “We’re gonna miss it, but it’s been a great time.”