For sixty years Kaye's Korner American and Asian Groceries has supplied the downtown State College community with everything from the morning paper to orange juice to a variety of American and Asian cooking goods.

American and Asian Groceries, one of the last true small-town convenience stores, will close its doors by the end of this month and join many of its kind who have been edged out of the market by chains such as Uni-Mart and 7-Eleven.

The town will lose more than a few canned goods and dairy products when American and Asian Groceries goes out of business. The store's manager, Binh Nguyen, widely known to many students and community members as Mr. Binh, will also be absent now from the lively downtown commercial scene.

Binh has been the store manager for twenty-three years and can remember when there were only two convenience stores in town.

"During the first few years I worked here we would sell 150 to 180 New York Times each Sunday. Now there are two Uni-Marts on each street and I can't hold out financially. Plus, I am being squeezed out by my landlord," Nguyen said.

Nguyen grew up in Vietnam. For 27 years he worked for the Vietnamese Foreign Service and worked closely with the United States government during the Vietnam War. When Saigon, the capital of South Vietnam, fell to the Communists in 1975, Nguyen moved permanently to the United States where he looked for a job as a professor at Pennsylvania State University.

Nguyen stumbled across a local convenience store that was for sale while unable to land a teaching position to support his family. Thus began Nguyen's 23-year tenure with Kaye's Korner American and Asian Groceries.

"The store offered me something new, a change in lifestyle. I worked very long hours, but it was exciting. I had fun. I am giving up the place with regret and sorrow. I am going to miss the pleasant times in life, talking and joking with students, this is what kept me going," Nguyen said, chuckling heartily as he recalls the numerous rewarding conversations he has had with his customers.

"Sometimes I would stay open an hour late talking with students," Nguyen said.

After enjoying some profits in his first few years of business Nguyen has landed on hard times and said after more than two decades in the business, he is tired.

"I don't make enough money, the past few years have just been for the fun. I actually wouldn't have been able to last this long if it weren't for the support of the community especially the students, faculty and local government."

In his last few weeks of business, Nguyen is giving his thanks to the community and is trying to appeal to customers to help buy out the remainder of his products so he does not have to go into retirement in debt. To encourage buying, Nguyen has marked down all of the prices in the store, some merchandise is as much as 50 percent off.

"I don't plan on moving anywhere for retirement," Nguyen said. "I love this community too much. I love seeing the streets at 11 p.m. filled with youthful life. These young people have strong hearts, and I can feel it. It makes me feel good to be around them," Nguyen said while pressing his hand firmly against his chest, as if he could feel the youthful strength in his heart.