All gone

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Good afternoon all.

As noted above, DuPont Parkway landmark Willey Farms this morning fell victim of a five-alarm blaze.

The sprawling Townsend business was a Delaware treasure, with specialty foods, fresh produce (before veggies became trendy), greenhouse, deli, garden center, and home and yard décor area. Where else could you find two or three kinds of summer sausages or that unique yard decoration? 

As the Middletown-Odessa-Townsend area grew, so did Willey Farms, despite a  location away from the epicenter of growth and sprawl.  The business also survived the Route 1 opening that for a few years made DuPont Highway a quiet location.

Meanwhile, their trees and shrubs made their way throughout the area as new housing sprung up and the man of the house lost the battle for a prairie-like tree-free lawn that makes that riding mower easier to use.

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Willey’s was a great place to visit, especially in the spring and when the holiday décor was on display.

As the  owners noted in a heart-wrenching  Facebook post “all gone.”

In the same post, they vowed to build again.

Delaware’s small business community will be pulling for Willey Farms. Our thoughts  are with owners and employees.

The determination and hard work that built the four-decade-old business will allow it to rise again. We await that bittersweet ribbon cutting.  – Doug and Sharon Rainey.

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