MANKATO — After 40 years of providing model trains, radio-controlled cars, watercolor paint and jewelry beads, Don’s Hobby will be closing.

“It’s been a terrible, hard decision to make,” said Carol Pasbrig, who along with her husband, Korrie, own the North Riverfront Drive shop.

They said a number of factors led to declining sales over the years, from fewer young people taking up model building, to in-town competition and, most devastating, the increase in use of the Internet by hobbyists.

“There’s a lot of things, but I’m convinced the Internet and mail-order hurt the worst,” Korrie said. “People are buying things on the Internet for about what we’re paying for them.”

The store is closed through Wednesday and will begin a clearance sale Thursday. The closing sale will likely last into the spring until everything is gone.

The business was started by Carol’s dad, Don Schlichting, a barber who moved to Mankato from Austin more than 40 years ago. He opened a downtown business, where Blue Bricks now is, that had an eclectic variety of goods and services.

He had a barber chair inside the front window of his Big Dollar Store, and eventually added paints, tropical fish, models and some art and craft supplies. In the basement of the business were pinball machines and a big track where people could race model electric cars that rode around a track in slots.

Carol started helping out as a youngster. “I got paid 2 cents per bag to package beads.”

The Pasbrigs moved the business to its Riverfront Drive site in 1999.

They have kept many loyal customers, including many college art students and model train enthusiasts, who like to see what they’re buying and who like the camaraderie of the hobby store. “I feel bad we’ll be leaving those people hanging,” Korrie said.

Dick Keltjen feels even worse.

“I’m shocked and hurt. I’m going to miss them a lot,” said Keltjen when he heard of the store’s closing. Keltjen, 76, has been a model train fanatic for more than 50 years and has visited Don’s Hobby once or twice a week for most of the past four decades.

“Don would special order things for me. When they moved to their new location, I was the first one at their door when they opened.”

Keltjen, whose basement is filled with model railroads and who brings a portable set to area schools and events, said the Don’s Hobby staff provided personal service. He recalled one time when relatives ordered a train for him for a Christmas present and Korrie delivered it to his house so he’d get it before Christmas.

“They’re just terrific people,” Keltjen said.

But, he realizes he is one of a dwindling number of enthusiasts who have kept Don’s Hobby in business.

“There’s not too many of us train nuts left anymore,” Keltjen said.

Korrie said competition from Hobby Lobby and Michaels, particularly for art supplies, cut into business.

There are also fewer hobbyists. “We even saw our craft business drop when the casinos started becoming popular,” Carol said. “The older ladies weren’t doing crafts. They were heading to the casino.”

They tried various strategies over the years, from opening a temporary holiday store in River Hills Mall to hosting a summer arts festival in their parking lot. (They don’t know if anyone will pick up hosting the arts festival, which originated outside The Coffee Hag in Old Town.)

They looked at moving the business to a higher-profile area but said the profit margins couldn’t cover the higher costs of a hilltop location. They own the building they are in and will lease or sell it.

Carol, wiping some tears as she talked about the decision, said there was just no way to fight the tide against them.

It’s a problem in the industry across the country. From 2000 to 2005, the number of family-owned hobby stores in the country dropped by nearly half, from 15,000 to 8,000.

The Pasbrigs, in their mid-40s, say they have no idea what they’ll do next. “It’s going to be a major shift in our lives,” Korrie said. “If anyone’s looking for some good employees, we’re available.”