The business has passed through three generations' hands, beginning with Don, who migrated from Lebanon in 1926 and started the shop two years later.

"When Lebanese people migrated to Australia, the Lebanese community in Sydney, which was very big at the time and they supported the Lebanese people migrating, and they gave them a suitcase full of haberdashery to go out and sell and start as a hawker. And that's what he did," Don's grandson Bill, now running the business with his brother Paul and his mother Kay, said.

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"He'd travel up to Wingham on the train because he had a cousin there of the Abdoo family, and he fell in love with the river and the valley.

"He moved up here and met my grandmother. He got a job on the railway through her, and then he saved his money and bought his first fruit shop. He said he'd never have to look for a job because he was going to employ himself. He saved every cent he could and that's where we started," Bill said.

The first Solomons shop was where Bing Lee now stands in Victoria Street. Don saved more money and moved the shop across the road, and then he saved enough money and bought the property across the road in Victoria Street next to the Commonwealth Bank.

The family business passed on to Bill's father Rex, a stalwart of the local community who received an OAM for his contribution to the Scouts, and who was an Australian sailing champion.

"My Dad, he did so much. They both did. I could never live up to what they've done in their lifetimes," Bill said.

They've been on their current site 30 years. They branched out to Wingham at one stage, "but Coles came in in a big way and really hammered us for 12 months," Bill said.

Coles, and the other supermarkets, is the primary reason Solomons is having to close.

"It's hard to compete with the big supermarkets. They're buying direct off the growers instead of through the market system where they'd pay an extra 30 per cent for the wholesaler; they're not paying that now because they're getting it direct off the grower, so that's 30 per cent less. They're selling it for what I'm paying for it, basically.

"And they've lifted their quality and game in the last five years. Five years ago we could compete and blow them out of the water, they had no idea," Bill said.

"Plus takeaway - the young kids don't cook anymore. They'd rather go and buy it. They're my biggest competitors as well - takeaways like McDonalds, KFC and Dominos.

"And they took compulsory cooking out of the curriculum at schools. I don't think the kids don't know how to cook. Plus they all want to shop in one shop. They cry time poor but they've got more time.

"Back in my mother's time and my time, people would shop in the greengrocers, the butcher, and the bakers. Now they just want to go to one place and get it all.

"I'm not real happy because I've got to close down a three generation business - that's affecting me a lot. My mother still comes in every day, and she's nearly 80," Bill said.

Rex passed away five years ago, and Bill now sees looking after his mother as his primary responsibility, once the business closes.

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"I'll look after her, that's my main goal, but hopefully that won't be for a few more years yet," he said.

"I'd like to thank everyone in Taree and the area for supporting Solomons over the years. I wish everyone the best.

"Everyone's been so lovely in the town, it's been great. Even the opposition, the other fruit shop in town, he rang me two days ago and offered me any help I needed. It was lovely just to get the call. And all of our customers have been coming in.

"It's sad actually, I'm fighting back the tears," Bill said.