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Business icon may be going away Monday Feb 27, 2017 at 4:38 PM Feb 27, 2017 at 4:38 PM By Jeff Duewel Grants Pass Daily Courier A 95-year-old business icon in Grants Pass, Blind George's Newsstand, may be on its last legs. Owners Jack and Brenda Smith were given notice last week that the 122-year-old Hansen Building had been sold, and they needed to be out by May 1. George Spencer founded the newsstand around the corner on Sixth Street in 1922 about the time he was going blind, and Grants Pass residents have been smelling popcorn and newsprint ever since. He moved his tent to Sixth and G by the current Dutch Bros. the same year he founded it, then on to the current location at the Hansen Building in 1960. Jack Smith said moving a landmark like Blind George's to a new location isn't an option. "You can, but the ambience wouldn't be there," said Smith, who bought the business eight years ago. "George walked in this building. It would be like moving Disneyland. There's no moving this business." Brenda Smith added, "It's one thing to sell the building, but you're taking away a major piece of history in the town." The pending sale also affects the Bead Merchant, which moved next door in the same building a month ago after 25 years on Sixth Street. Diann Gilbertson, who owns the building and sold Blind George's to the Smiths, told the Daily Courier Friday the sale of the building is not yet a done deal. "I haven't made up my mind," said Gilbertson, who, as a child, actually met George Spencer. "There's been an offer." However, the note given to the Smiths by her husband, former Josephine County Sheriff Gil Gilbertson, says someone named Kirk Greenman is the new owner. The note also said Greenman wants the building to be unoccupied by May 1. Jack Smith said Diann Gilbertson gave him a week to find a local owner who might let him stay in the building. "We've been talking to various people with money," he said. "We're trying to find a buyer for this building. We don't really want to sell the business." Bead Merchant owner Renee Smith told the Daily Courier she moved her business after 20 years at the previous location on Sixth Street because she wanted a smaller place and wanted to be on G Street. "It was a huge decision to move it in the first place," Smith said. "My heart is broken, but I'm trying to stay positive. I'm not giving up." The Daily Courier was unable to locate Kirk Greenman. Before Gilbertson owned Blind George's, the Boothe family had owned it since 1968. A Jan. 23, 1965, article in the Daily Courier, the day before Spencer's 80th birthday, hailed Blind George's contribution to the community. "He and his faithful dog have become as much a part of the city's image as the city itself. With an appeal for all age groups, virtually every man, woman and child in the area has made a visit to Blind George's." — Reach reporter Jeff Duewel at 541-474-3720 or [email protected]