Have You Heard?

WICHITA — Almost three decades after opening, Crestview Marine near Central and Greenwich has closed.

“My decision to do this is completely economy driven,” says owner Kelly Miller.

Miller opened the business with his father, Homer, in 1987. When his father died in 1998, Miller bought the business.

“It’s been a fun business,” he says of selling and servicing boats.

When the economy crashed, though, so did his business.

“This industry took a pretty hard hit for the past five years,” Miller says. “It just became obvious it was time for something else.”

He says he concentrated on closing with dignity “if there’s any such thing.”

“It’s hard,” Miller says. “It’s what I’ve done for a very long time.”

McCurdy Auction will auction the contents of the building Feb. 21.

“Everything’s going to be sold down to the walls,” Miller says. He says that includes “26 years of accumulation.”

There are new owners of the 5,500-square-foot building, which sits on 1.34 acres at 11018 E. Central. They prefer to remain anonymous.

Patrick Ahern of NAI Martens and Grant Tidemann and Terry Rupp of J.P. Weigand & Sons handled the deal.

Andy Boyd of Walter Morris Cos. is seeking a tenant for the space.

Miller isn’t sure what he’ll do next. He says he didn’t allow himself to think about that while still operating Crestview.

“Once you do, you give up,” he says.

“I’m confident that tomorrow will have some opportunities that will give me something to do. … Tomorrow could be the best thing that ever happened.”