SALISBURY — A Salisbury landmark is looking for a new home. Critters on South Main Street will be closing this Sunday and they are hoping the right person will take Champion, their mechanical horse always located out front, off their hands so that local kids can still enjoy it.

“We created a monster with that guy. When I get here on Sunday, we open at 1. If I get here at 1:05, there’s sometimes kids crying because Champion is locked in the barn,” owner Bob Lambrecht said.

Critters first opened back in 2007 when Lambrecht and his husband Jon Planovsky moved here from California after seeing a historical home in Salisbury on the History Channel. That particular house wasn’t right for them, but when their Realtor showed them another one, they knew they had found what they were looking for.

“We walked in and literally like a Hallmark made-for-TV movie. Took two steps in and turned to each other and said, ‘This is home.’ And we bought it that day,” Lambrecht said.

Lambrecht had been in California working retail since the 1970s. The name Critters comes from a nickname Lambrecht’s co-workers gave him because of all the animal posters that he would put up at work. After much consideration, they decided to sell the store four months ago. “We figured it was time to get out when the getting’s good,” Lambrecht said.

It sounds like their customers don’t share the same attitude as they do.

“The public is horrified because we’re a store like none other. We were what the industry call a ‘trend store.’ We have irreverent stuff, art cards, some are a little edgy…They say, ‘Where am I going to get my cards?’ There are still true card people who come in and buy stacks at a time,” Lambrecht said.

For Lambrecht and Planovsky, Champion has been a part of their family since before they arrived in Salisbury. They had an identical Champion brand horse at their previous store in California, too. When they moved to Salisbury, they reached out to the same person who sold them their first Champion for another one.

Critters might be saying goodbye to Salisbury, but Lambrecht wants Champion to stay right where it is and he is not backing down. He has received several offers so far to sell Champion, but hasn’t accepted any yet.

“People have been reaching out to me. I could’ve sold it 10 times over, but people want to take it home for their kids in their playroom. I’ve been saying, ‘Nope. Sorry, he’s got to stay on Main Street in Salisbury.’ Or I put him in storage,” Lambrecht said.

Being so absolute about a vintage, coin-operated toy may seem extreme, but for Lambrecht, he only wants to do right by Champion. He has witnessed the love and devotion that so many people have had for it, to the point where it can’t be just for one person or family.

“If you see kids crying. If you have people telling you when they’re driving down the interstate and their kids see Salisbury, they have to turn off to come here and ride that horse. Back in the ’50s, they were everywhere. There’s very few and the ones that are still around are plastic. They are not Champion. That’s an original 1950s Champion,” Lambrecht said. “I feel very attached to that horse and what I’ve provided the community with that horse.”

Lambrecht and Planovsky said they are looking forward to finally getting to enjoy the holidays since they no longer work in retail. Even though they have roots in California, Lambrecht and Planovsky now call Salisbury home and plan on sticking around a little bit longer.

“This town has been so incredible for us. I call it a quirky little town because it is and I like it that way. I would never leave, ever. Most people are fearful that we’re leaving. We are not,” Lambrecht said.