LANETT — On Saturday, Pawn City celebrated its 25th year in Lanett with a Customer Appreciation Day. Items in the store had been 25 percent off all week and on Saturday there was free food, face painting and balloons for customers.

“We gave away $300 worth of gift certificates to seven lucky winners,” said Pawn City co-owner Scott Hilyer. “Lots of people turned out to enjoy the day’s events. We were really pleased with the way it turned out.”

While running the local Colorvision store in Lanett in the early 1990s, Pawn City owners Scott and Deke Hilyer saw the need for a loan business in Lanett. At the time, they had a small store with only two employees at Valley Plaza shopping center.

“We didn’t have much in the way of merchandise to sell,” recalls Scott, “but we encouraged people to keep coming back.”

In the pawn shops that make it, merchandise is constantly growing and changing. That’s the way it was with Pawn City. As the business grew and the merchandise expanded, people liked what they saw. They knew it was a place where they could get great deals on anything from an engagement ring to a big screen TV.

Thanks to the surrounding community and its loyal support, Pawn City grew out of a small location into today’s much bigger building off heavily traveled Gilmer Avenue.

“We hope to be here for many more years,” said Scott. “I enjoy working in a business that can provide help to our customers who need a quick loan or who are just looking to save money on merchandise. We want to thank our loyal customers for 25 great years.”