Brown’s Hardware survived two world wars, the Great Depression, recessions, inflation, and even the rise of soulless big-box retailers. But what it couldn’t survive was modern politicians—the kind who talk about “supporting small businesses” while taxing them into an early grave. After 142 years of serving Falls Church, Brown’s Hardware is shutting its doors. And […]
Brown’s Hardware survived two world wars, the Great Depression, recessions, inflation, and even the rise of soulless big-box retailers. But what it couldn’t survive was modern politicians—the kind who talk about “supporting small businesses” while taxing them into an early grave.
After 142 years of serving Falls Church, Brown’s Hardware is shutting its doors. And if you believe the politicians, this is just the “natural course of business.”
No. This is the natural course of bad government.
It wasn’t Amazon that took down Brown’s Hardware. It wasn’t Lowe’s or Home Depot. It was the political class in Falls Church and Fairfax County, who have spent years treating small businesses like a bottomless ATM, while they play Monopoly with taxpayer money.
DEATH BY A THOUSAND TAX HIKES
Let’s talk about Falls Church’s tax and fee hikes, because the politicians sure won’t.
📌 In December 2024, Falls Church officials, who apparently never met a tax they didn’t like, floated yet another real estate tax hike—pushing it to $1.23 per $100 of assessed value. That’s on top of previous increases.
📌 Then there’s the BPOL tax—the infamous Business, Professional, and Occupational License tax. Small retailers like Brown’s pay 0.19% of their gross receipts—not profits, receipts. You could lose money and still owe the government.
📌 And don’t forget Fairfax County—which proposed a 1.5-cent increase in the real estate tax in February 2025, adding yet another burden on business owners and landlords.
So when a local business shuts down after 142 years, maybe it’s time to stop blaming Amazon and start blaming the political parasites who never miss a paycheck while their policies drive small business owners into the ground.
And now, here come the crocodile tears from local politicians. Any day now, expect to see a grandstanding City Council member post a tearful goodbye to Brown’s Hardware—probably something about how “Falls Church just won’t be the same.”
It’s the same routine, every time. They mourn what they helped destroy.
What they won’t do is roll back taxes. What they won’t do is admit their policies are the problem.
Instead, they’ll talk about finding new ‘revenue sources’—which is politician-speak for ‘we’re going to squeeze you even harder.’
The real question isn’t why Brown’s closed—it’s who’s next.
Your favorite local café? The barber who’s been there for decades? Your neighborhood bookstore? Because the government isn’t stopping.
Not until residents fight back. Not until they demand tax relief, real reform, and accountability.
If they don’t, Brown’s Hardware won’t be the last business to go under. It’ll just be another tombstone on the long, sad road of small businesses killed by big government.