Remote grocery closed indefinitely

GERLACH -- The Gerlach-area's only grocery store, a last stop for Burning Man festival participants on their way to the Black Rock Desert, has closed indefinitely.

The Empire Distributing Co. in Empire, about 7 miles south of Gerlach, recently closed after a legal battle between owner Donald Marks and store manager Donald Lawson.

For years, the general store on Nevada Route 447 had been the only source for milk, bread and other basic supplies for about 550 residents in the remote Washoe County towns of Gerlach and Empire. Now, residents say they face a 70-mile drive south to Fernley, the nearest town with stores.