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Updated: 7 hours ago

Three Joann stores in Maine among 500 slated for closure

PHOTO/TINA FISCHER The Joann store in the Pine Tree Shopping Center at 1064 Brighton Avenue in Portland is not on the list of closures.
By Tina Fischer

Joann stores in Auburn, Topsham and Waterville will be shuttered as part of the Ohio-based company's plan to close 500 of its 800 fabric and craft stores.

After the closures, Maine will have two Joann stores — in the Bangor Mall, at 710 Stillwater Ave, and in Portland’s Pine Tree Shopping Center, 1064 Brighton Ave. 

“We’re doing business as normal," Sasha Blodet, manager of the Portland store on Brighton Avenue, told Mainebiz on Thursday. "We’re waiting on customers, filling orders and trying to inspire creativity.” 

Several of Joann’s New Hampshire stores are included in the downsizing. The privately held retailer, based in Hudson, Ohio, has stores in 49 states.

The cutback follows last month’s second bankruptcy filing in less than a year for the 80-year-old fabric and crafts retailer.

In a Jan. 15 statement, Joann Inc. said it had initiated voluntary Chapter 11 proceedings in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware “to facilitate a sale process to maximize the value of its business.”

The company traces its roots to 1944, when German immigrants opened the Cleveland Fabric Shop.  As the business expanded, the name was later changed to Jo-Ann Fabrics in a nod to the names of the daughters from both families (Joan and Jacqueline Ann).

In 2021, Joann went public on the Nasdaq exchange, but returned to private ownership last year after filing for bankruptcy in March.

'Significant challenges'

In a statement earlier this week, the company said that it faces “significant and lasting challenges in the retail environment, which, coupled with our current financial position and constrained inventory levels, have forced us to take this step."

A notice to customers on the Joann website said the hearing to approve the motion to close the 500 stores, is scheduled for Feb. 14.

Subject to court approval, the company said it expects going-out-of-business sales to start at affected stores this Saturday. That could go on for several months.

Stores affected in Maine

Joann Fabric and Craft will close three Maine stores:

  • Auburn: Auburn Plaza, 732 Center St.
  • Topsham: Topsham Fair Mall, 49 Topsham Fair Road
  • Waterville: 180 JFK Plaza

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