Stores come and go downtown. I mean, do they ever. But I never thought Mervyns would be one of them to go.

If downtown had a retail anchor, Mervyns was it. (No offense intended, Beaded Nomad.) It’s been here since 1962. If sources are correct, only Zeller’s hardware, established in 1954, and jeweler Shig Kita, 1957, are older.

The news that Mervyns is closing hit me in a visceral way. I haven’t reacted emotionally to a retailer’s departure since Brewster’s shut its doors.

For you newbies, Brewster’s was a funky army-navy-camping emporium at First and Main. A contemporary three-story office building marks the site.

When you entered Brewster’s, you invariably encountered a congenial gent plunked on a couch, watching TV. That was the owner, Larry Friedman.

Granted, Mervyns wasn’t THAT homey, but considering how fancy retailing has become in the Napa Valley these days, Mervyns seemed as comfortable as a pair of well-washed jeans. That’s remarkable for a chain store.

And so it came to be that Mervyns and the Courtneys enjoyed an enduring relationship. When you have a kid to clothe, there was no better place. Reasonable prices, lots of choices.

We never paid full price. Did anyone? Patient shoppers were rewarded with reduced prices that matched or undercut those at the outlet center.

I’m now feeling a tad guilty about this. Is Mervyns pulling out because of my family’s bottom-feeder buying habits? If only we hadn’t been so bargain-driven. Our shopping style was practically predatory.

When I came to town in the early 1970s, Mervyns was moving from the old Migliavacca building into new digs. The new store was impressive, lacking only an escalator to demonstrate its retail bona fides.

I know. Much of that early luster has disappeared. I think Target stole it.

While my family took to Mervyns like a duck to water, we always reserved the right to go on out-of-town shopping trips. The retail gaps in this town are vast and long-standing.

Mervyns expanded and upgraded over the years. To me, this meant Mervyns was one popular store. A retail dynamo. Downtown would come to lose Woolworth’s, Carithers and J.C. Penney, but, by golly, it had Mervyns. The center was holding.

My theory as to why we’re losing Mervyns? Napa now has not one, but two Targets. Nationally, Target has been eating Mervyns’ lunch for years. No reason for it to have been any different here.

Now a confession. I haven’t been a regular Mervyns shopper of late. By “of late,” I mean the last 10 years.

 My kids grew up. Napa Premium Outlets opened. Except for when underwear went on sale, I lacked a compelling reason to shop the home of High Sierra.

Not so, Cheryl. She’s remained loyal. Just two weeks ago, she picked up several back-to-school bargains for her son.

When I told her that Mervyns was giving up the ghost, Cheryl wailed. An actual wail. “Where will we go?” she said.

You can do more outlet shopping, I said. Hit the double Targets. McCaulou’s. Doesn’t Wal-Mart sell clothing?

She didn’t respond to any of my most excellent suggestions. Her grieving for Mervyns didn’t permit it.

I’m sure we’ll adjust. Don’t we always? Just ask Montgomery Ward shoppers.

What I find mind-bending is that Mervyns in the ‘70s represented downtown’s future. It was the centerpiece of the city’s redevelopment efforts.

Now, a mere three decades later, Mervyns is downtown’s past. A dowdy past. By today’s standards, the clothing isn’t fashionable enough, the jewelry expensive enough, the clientele upscale enough.

Downtown is reinventing itself yet again. The Mervyns property is likely to be privately redeveloped into something cuter, more tourist-worthy. Given today’s mixed-use mantra, there could well be condos on top.

As I see it, we locals shoulder most of the responsibility for Mervyns’ demise. We fled from downtown to stores that were newer, bigger, cheaper, whatever.

This is an American phenomenon. We are not alone. From coast to coast, thousands of downtowns have gone fallow. Outlying malls stole all the action.

What is truly remarkable, I guess, is that downtown Napa has enough economic juice to try another makeover. So what if redevelopment in the ‘70s and ‘80s wasn’t a raging success. We’ll keep at it until we get it right.

Kevin can be reached at 256-2217 or Napa Valley Register,  P.O. Box 150, Napa 94559 or kcourtney@napanews.com