BATAVIA – After 101 years in business, Hubbard’s Ethan Allen Gallery on Batavia Avenue in downtown Batavia is set to close its doors by the end of the year.

Owner Bob Hubbard, 62, said Thursday that he has decided to retire.

The furniture store has been a fixture in the downtown since 1910, when his grandfather, G.E. Hubbard, bought an existing furniture business at 16 N. Batavia Ave. (Route 31).

The store in 1969 decided to exclusively carry Ethan Allen furnishings.

Hubbard started working full time at the store in 1979, and he has been the store’s sole owner since 2005. Deciding to close the store is bittersweet, he said. Hubbard’s celebrated its centennial in October 2010.

“I grew up in the business,” Hubbard said. “I never knew a day when the family wasn’t in the furniture business.”

Growing up, he lived just a few blocks from the store.

A floor sample sale is set to begin on Oct. 21, with the sale expected to take six to eight weeks to complete.

Hubbard expects the store to be closed by mid-December.

“We don’t have a fixed date,” he said. “It could be sooner than that or later, depending on how the sale goes. We want to sell everything we can.”

Hubbard said the lackluster economy played a part in his decision to retire.

“If the economy looked to be more robust, maybe I would have waited a year or two,” Hubbard said. “The furniture business has been especially challenging. It closely mirrors what is happening in housing.”

Hubbard has been able to navigate through the rough waters, however.

“We’ve still been successful,” Hubbard said. “This is probably the best time to retire.”

Batavia Mayor Jeff Schielke said he was saddened to see Hubbard’s closing.

“It’s been a very positive force in downtown Batavia for many years,” Schielke said.

Schielke also is personally sorry to see Hubbard retire. They are childhood friends. Schielke said the city would like the building to remain a retail property.

“The city stands ready to work with him to help market the property,” Schielke said.

The mayor has high hopes for the building’s future.

“It has high visibility, and has a proven track record of attracting customers,” Schielke said.