Category Archives: Closings

You don’t say

Feb. 11, 20132:53 p.m.

“Everybody said it’s just grandma’s, and nobody could take over.”

– Betty Webb, who is closing her Gramma’s Calico Cupboard after 31 years in business but isn’t trying to sell the quilting and fabric shop

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Towne West Square Lane Bryant to close

Feb. 4, 20132:43 p.m.

WICHITA — Almost 20 years after opening in Towne West Square, Lane Bryant is closing.

The store’s last day in business is Feb. 23.

The national chain, which specializes in plus-size women’s clothing, has had plans to close the Towne West store since a Lane Bryant opened in NewMarket Square in 2011.

Missy Meyer, manager of the NewMarket store, says there are no plans to close or move the Towne East Square Lane Bryant.

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , Filed under Closings, NewMarket Square, Real estate, Retail, Towne East Square, Towne West Square, West side | Comments Off

Crestview Marine closes, building sells

Jan. 17, 20133:32 p.m.

WICHITA — Almost three decades after opening, Crestview Marine near Central and Greenwich has closed.

“My decision to do this is completely economy driven,” says owner Kelly Miller.

Miller opened the business with his father, Homer, in 1987. When his father died in 1998, Miller bought the business.

“It’s been a fun business,” he says of selling and servicing boats.

When the economy crashed, though, so did his business.

“This industry took a pretty hard hit for the past five years,” Miller says. “It just became obvious it was time for something else.”

He says he concentrated on closing with dignity “if there’s any such thing.”

“It’s hard,” Miller says. “It’s what I’ve done for a very long time.”

McCurdy Auction will auction the contents of the building Feb. 21.

“Everything’s going to be sold down to the walls,” Miller says. He says that includes “26 years of accumulation.”

There are new owners of the 5,500-square-foot building, which sits on 1.34 acres at 11018 E. Central. They prefer to remain anonymous.

Patrick Ahern of NAI Martens and Grant Tidemann and Terry Rupp of J.P. Weigand & Sons handled the deal.

Andy Boyd of Walter Morris Cos. is seeking a tenant for the space.

Miller isn’t sure what he’ll do next. He says he didn’t allow himself to think about that while still operating Crestview.

“Once you do, you give up,” he says.

“I’m confident that tomorrow will have some opportunities that will give me something to do. … Tomorrow could be the best thing that ever happened.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , , , , , , , , , , Filed under Closings, East side, Real estate, Retail | Comments Off

Camera Angles to close this month after almost three decades in business

Dec. 12, 201210:35 a.m.

WICHITA — In 1985, when film still ruled the world of photography, a studio called Camera Angles opened in Wichita to offer portraits.

A lot has changed since then. Too much, in fact, to keep the business open.

“Camera Angles was built in a time when a large studio and a large staff … could be sustained,” says Amiee White, who has worked at the business for almost 17 years and owned it for 10.

“The dynamics of the industry have changed along with the economy, and with that I made the decision to close.”

The last day for portraits is Dec. 29.

White has been leasing almost 5,000 square feet at 2424 N. Woodlawn near Sweet Basil. Her lease is up this month.

“These decisions are never easy,” White says. “I’ve been here all of my adult life, basically.”

Read More »

By Carrie Rengers | Filed under Closings, East side, Photography, Real estate, Retail | Comments Off

King’s Family Sale & Resale furniture store to close after 60 years, but the date isn’t set

Dec. 5, 20125:40 p.m.

WICHITA — Sixty years after opening his King’s Family Sale & Resale furniture shop at Harry and Hillside, Tony King is preparing to close it.

Whether that’s in three weeks or sometime in the new year, he hasn’t decided.

King is selling his land at the southwest corner of the intersection to CVS, which is putting a pharmacy there.

Don Ablah and his son, Christian, of Classic Real Estate handled the deal.

It looks like King may be leaning toward staying open until CVS starts construction.

“The answer’s probably yes — if I can last that long,” says the 92-year-old, laughing.

As a third generation builder, King says he probably shouldn’t have ventured into furniture sales.

“I probably never should have gotten into a retail store,” he says. “Not my specialty.”

He says he opened it “to give my wife a job.”

Pat King had been a teacher.

“I made her into a furniture sales lady,” Tony King says. “I had to learn the business the hard way.”

At the time they opened the store, it was in the corner of the strip center at the intersection.

They briefly closed the store when Pat King became ill about a decade ago. When Tony King reopened it about a year later, it was in the building behind the former store, where it’s been since.

Habitat For Humanity ReStore is now in the corner space but is moving out within the month to its new home in the Plaza West shopping center at Central and West.

“I may be back in the corner again,” King says.

He says he can’t lease the Habitat space to anyone else for the short time it’ll be vacant, which is part of the reason he’s considering moving in.

“I don’t particularly want to. I think we do all right right here.”

So why bother?

“Well, we’ve got a lot to sell.”

Read More »

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More than four decades after opening, Aleta’s Bras & Lingerie is closing

Nov. 30, 20123:00 p.m.

WICHITA — Aleta Williams has a simple explanation of why, after more than four decades in business, she’s closing her Aleta’s Bras & Lingerie shop.

“When you’re almost 81, it’s time to go, don’t you think?”

Her customers beg to differ.

“That’s what I hear every day when they walk through the front door: ‘What am I going to do without you?’”

The shop, which is at the southeast corner of Central and Edgemoor, has faithful customers worldwide. Williams is devoted to them, too.

“You’re doing such a service for women,” she says. She’s especially happy to help women who have had mastectomies.

“If I could just fit bras and help my customers, if that’s all I had to do … I’d stay here, and I’d fall over dead,” she says of happily staying on till she dies.

Williams hates paperwork, though, and she’s had enough.

She never wanted to be in the business in the first place.

Williams’ late husband, Hal, approached her with the idea in about 1970 after reading a Parade story about a couple who sold bras.

“We’re going in the bra business,” he told his wife.

“I fought him tooth and nail,” Williams says.

“Now you don’t expect me to go out and put women in bras and girdles?” she said to him.

“He saw the business angle of the bra business,” Williams says.

Read More »

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State closes A Bicycle Service over taxes

Nov. 30, 20122:23 p.m.

WICHITA — Alcoholic Beverage Control agents with the Kansas Department of Revenue this week seized the assets of A Bicycle Service in Derby. The state says the company owes $56,254 in state withholding tax.

Owner Richard Bledsoe couldn’t be reached for comment.

The state closed all three of Bledsoe’s stores, include A Bicycle Service shops in Andover and El Dorado.

In a press release, the state said, “Only after several unsuccessful attempts does the department take the action of seizing assets, which in this instance resulted in the business being closed.”

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West-side Baskin-Robbins closes for the winter due to lack of drive-through

Nov. 27, 201211:44 a.m.

WICHITA — The west-side Baskin-Robbins store near 21st and Maize Road has closed for the winter.

“It’s more economically feasible at this point to temporarily close it down for the winter and then reopen in the spring,” says owner David Cortez.

He’s not closing the east-side Baskin-Robbins near 21st and Webb Road. He expects business to remain strong there through the winter because 50 percent of his sales come from the store’s drive-through.

“We just don’t have a drive-through at the west store,” Cortez says. “It’s real tough because … of how it’s laid out.”

Coming into the store can be a bigger hassle in winter weather. Also, it can be difficult for parents with children in car seats.

“You’ve got a lot of soccer moms who don’t want to get out of their car,” Cortez says. “It’s very convenient to have that drive-through.”

He wants to find a way to have one.

“I’m looking at some options.”

By Carrie Rengers | Tags: , Filed under Closings, Real estate, Restaurants, West side | Comments Off

After more than two decades at Twin Lakes, Fashion Bug to leave by late January

Nov. 12, 20122:11 p.m.

WICHITA — After more than two decades at the Twin Lakes shopping center, Fashion Bug is preparing to close, though it’s not happening just yet.

“We don’t have a close date yet,” says store manager Lindsey Constable.

She says the store will continue to receive new items through the end of this month.

Sales of as much as 60 percent off are under way.

Constable says when Ascena Retail Group bought Charming Shoppes earlier this year, it decided to close the Fashion Bug chain.

Ascena also owns Maurices, Dress Barn and Justice, which are not going out of business.

Although Constable can’t say for certain when Fashion Bug will close, she says it won’t remain in business past the end of January.

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Jim’s Builders Hardware in Delano closes

Oct. 29, 201210:46 a.m.

WICHITA — After more than three decades in business, Jim’s Builders Hardware in Delano is closing.

“We’re just closing because of the economy,” owner Jeanne McKiernan says. “It’s really a melancholy situation. We didn’t want to close.”

McKiernan’s late husband, Jim, and a business partner started the company in Kechi in 1979. The store then moved to Delano and has been at a couple of different addresses. It’s been at 567 W. Douglas since 1987.

“This business was built around builders building homes,” McKiernan says. “Builders stopped building homes, so consequently that had a big impact on this business.

“That’s the whole thing.”

Though McKiernan says she’s in business until Oct. 31, the store already is closed to the public. Mainly, she’s now packing boxes.

McCurdy Auction will auction the property and its contents on Nov. 28.

The 5,000-square-foot building was built in 1907.

The construction market has been down for years, but McKiernan says she tried to hold out as long as she could. Finally, she decided she had to close.

“When your business isn’t making money anymore, that’s the clue.”

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