SHELTON — Olsen Furniture is going out of business after 82 years as a Shelton family-owned retail store.

Rod Olsen and his mother and majority owner Carolyn made the decision to close by Aug. 1. Rod, who has been running the business since 2008, after his father, Rod Sr. died, explained why the store is closing.

“We’ve been struggling for the last several years,” Olsen said. “Of course, when the economy crashed in 2008 that didn’t help anyone’s situation anywhere. We did some good business for probably the last 10 years or so, but the last three years it’s been more of a struggle to the point where we need to decide whether … we wanted to get out of it and move on in life or go down with the ship. We got to the point where we wanted to make the right choice, the best choice for ourselves and for the community and close the  store and hope that something bigger and better moves in.”

Olsen says the economy, competition from online furniture companies and continuous slow sales were the main factors in the decision to close after all inventory is sold out.

Olsen’s was founded by Rod’s grandfather in 1936.

Olsen was uncertain what would happen to the 22,000-square-foot building that houses the store, plus nearby storage warehouse on Franklin Street. Before Olsen’s opened the furniture showroom, it was the first Safeway supermarket building in Shelton.

Olsen talked about what he would miss after the store closes.

“Being able to help out the community it the biggest thing,” Olsen said. “Being able to help donate to the community. There’s fundraisers, auctions, Turning Pointe, Toys for Kids, all those things that we love to do and love to support, Shelton High School football, basketball, baseball, all that stuff, all the auctions for the schools, all the benefits. Those are some of the things we really as a family are going to be the bigger part of.”

Three employees, one who’s been working there for 34 years, will lose their jobs when the store closes.

“I’ve been here for 26 years,” Olsen said. “I’ll miss parts of it. I think there’s new opportunities for me.”