He wants to keep it going, but it just isn't financially possible.

So on Aug. 23, Jim Baldus will close the doors to the Lyle Market.

Baldus, who owns the market and Jim's SuperValu in Austin, said he realizes how important a grocery store is in a community like Lyle.

"We thought we could make a go of it," Baldus said. "We just can't and we've tried everything. We've cut here and we've cut there. We can't cut anymore."

Baldus said many people in Lyle work and shop in Austin. "We see lots of checks at our Austin store, so that says something."

Lyle Mayor Ron Frank agrees.

"If people want it to work, they're going to have to use it. That's the bottom line," Frank said. "But most work in Austin and elsewhere and that's where they pick up their needs."

Baldus said the ideal person to run the store would be someone who didn't have to hire outside help.

"I have to hire everything," he said. "We have one full-time and three part-time workers. I'm having to hire out, so that makes it a little different.

"Lyle is a nice community. We had a real hard time trying to decide what to do. It was a hard decision to close it. We wish we would have not had to close it. We would have been happy just to break even on it."

A Cenex convenience store on U.S. 218 will now be the sole place for people to purchase smaller grocery items, like milk and pop. However, the market has been a nice feature to the community.

"It's nice to have," Frank said. "The older people like to have a market like that to shop."

Baldus said he's willing to work with someone to help keep the store going.

"I hope somebody goes in there. They don't even have to buy it from me. They can lease it from me. I would work with somebody that much, so we can keep a store in Lyle. There's that much of a need down there," he said.

Both the building and equipment in the store are for sale. Baldus said "there was somebody that showed some interest" in the store, but he hasn't heard from the prospective buyer in at least two weeks.

Frank said there are no immediate plans by the city to try and bring another vendor to the site.

Dan Fields can be reached at 434-2230 or by e-mail at dan.fields@austindailyherald.com