After 63 solid years in the city centre, the Weir family is planning to move its second-hand furniture shop to South Dunedin.
The distinctive white property at the corner of St Andrew and Great King Sts will be put on the market in the coming weeks.
It was also difficult to lug items of furniture up and down the stairs of the two-storey building.
The new premises, in King Edward St, would have about eight parking spaces and was all on one level.
Ms Weir said when Weir's opened, there were about four or five second-hand shops in the street, all of which had since closed.
The fact Weir's also carried out refurbishments gave the shop its edge, she said. She had always worked in retail, and the best part of her job was dealing with customers.
''We've got a good loyal customer base,'' she said.
''Hopefully, they'll follow us to our new site.''
Ms Weir estimated there were about 200 items in store at any one time, from smaller items to large chests of drawers, chests, beds and chairs.
Leadlight china cabinets and mirror wardrobes were among the most popular pieces.
The present shop's two-level showroom made it difficult to see what was in stock, Ms Weir said
The move - which would involve shifting hundreds of pieces of solid wooden furniture - was planned for early October.
The shop was established in 1956 by the Weirs' grandmother, Fairey Weir, and their uncle John. It was later taken over by John and Jayne and Neil's father, Graham. Their mother, Pauline, and aunt, Alix, also worked there for a number of years.
''Neil's been here for about 20 years, and I've been here for about 12 years,'' Ms Weir said.
The two siblings looked after the store by themselves, Neil handling refurbishments. They were kept very busy, Ms Weir said.
Generally speaking, the pair got on well, Ms Weir said - but she was the elder, so when there was a disagreement, what she said went.
