Recently in regional stores Category

The economic downturn is hitting local stores especially hard. Saddest among those affected are the decades-old establishments suddenly facing bankruptcy or liquidation. Recent news affects numerous local stores with particularly long histories:

• 1868: that's when long Strouse's department store in Evansville, Ind., first opened, and the family-run business has been run by the founder's great-grandson for the past 47 years. But Strouse's is beginning liquidation this month and closing around the end of the year.
• Across the border in Ohio, Holcomb's KnowPlace is ending a 137-year-run and closing its last 10 locations. The chain has been slowly closing locations all year.
  
• 89 years: that's how long Hunter Furniture in Birmingham has been open. But current owner Bob Hunter is closing up shop with a final sale starting next week. Hunter cites a combination of factors in the decision to close.
• Compared to the stores above, 1977 sounds like yesterday. But 32 years is a long time for a hometown hardware store to thrive, so in Milwaukee, residents of Edgar are stung that Hardware Hank hasn't found a buyer and is planning on closing.
  

Bargain home decorating retailer Old Time Pottery Inc. filed for bankruptcy as part of a restructuring. The chain, which operates 37 stores across 12 states in the southeast, is expecting business as usual with no layoffs.

Macro-level trend alert: an entire mall announced its closing this week. The Summit, a mall in Buffalo owned by Oberlin Plaza One, is closing in a month after the parent company filed for bankruptcy. The Summit has roughly 25 tenants, excluding its flagship department stores Bon-Ton and Sears, which own their own spaces, as does a Sav A Lot outlet on the site.

Ohio retailer International Diamond and Gold is reportedly closing all its stores. The jeweler, which has eight locations around Central Ohio and Seattle, was taken over by creditors last week.

In a significant shift to a small but influential retailer, upscale women's store Henri Bendel will stop selling clothes this summer. Stores will focus on accessories and beauty products, which are the more profitable areas of the business.

Henri Bendel, which is owned by Limited Brands, is also giving up one floor of its handsome store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan.

Fatburger's California and Nevada subsidiaries filed for bankruptcy and are in need of loan restructuring. Indications are their Fatburger locations, 32 in all, will stay open during the proceedings. The bankruptcy affects more than a third of all Fatburger stores.

In Alabama, Big 10 Tires filed for bankruptcy protection, citing insufficient operating funds. The tire retailer has 104 retail stores across three southern states. Big 10 Tires plans to keep its doors open while negotiating rent and debt relief.

In New York, old-world gourmet retailer Balducci's is closing both its locations by the end of April. The grocery store, which dates back 63 years to the Greenwich Village, gave up its original location in 2003. Balducci's has since expanded to eight locations throught the northeast, none of which have been reported as slated to close.

M.W. Sewall, the New England company that runs Clipper Marts throughout Maine, has filed for bankruptcy. The company, which dates to 1887, has no plans to close stores while restructuring. M.W. Sewall operates 15 Clipper Marts on the Maine coast and runs an oil-and-propane delivery service as well.

Restaurant chain Tumbleweed filed for bankruptcy protection in Kentucky. The company and its franchisees run 40 restaurants in Kentucky, Indiana, Ohio and overseas. All Tumbleweed Southwestern Grill outlets are continuing to operate during the restructuring.

This is intriguing: a number of malls nationwide are cutting hours, instead of closing stores. Barnes and Noble is changing hours across the country. "General Growth, which is trying to avoid filing for bankruptcy protection, is changing the hours at many of its malls across the country, including Baltimore-area locations White Marsh Mall, Owings Mills Mall, Towson Town Center, Mondawmin Mall and The Mall in Columbia. The malls will close a half-hour earlier Monday through Thursday and close an hour earlier Friday and Saturday. On Sunday, the malls will open an hour later."

New England retailer Better Bedding is closing more than half its stores as part of a bankruptcy restructuring. The company, which has 21 outlets, is shutting 11 of them and consolidating inventory. Better Bedding cited a 20 percent sales decline as part of the problem. The chain has been in business more than 30 years and is family-owned.

Bankrupt retailer Fortunoff is giving up on an acquisition and beginning liquidation sales today. Liquidators announced the sales would be business as usual and that they would honor outstanding gift cards. Fortunoff closed its flagship store at the start of February and entered into bankruptcy a few days later.

Fortunoff is an interesting bankrupty because of the fond memories people have of its family-owned roots. While its failure is a private-equity and debt-load story, many people remember it as the longtime regional retailer with family roots, making its closure a bit more poignant than other large stores.

Retailers selling food, typically among the lowest-margin businesses in the nation, are suffering as much as anyone in the rough economy. Some regional stories of note:

• Bashas', an independent supermarket chain in Arizona, is closing five locations to focus on more profitable locations. The company is also the subject of a federal discrimination investigation regarding its Hispanic employees.
  
• Ike's Farmer's Market, a related store from Bashas, is closing as well, a failed attempt to counter the natural foods movement established by Whole Foods (who itself is enduring a difficult year).
  
• Bruno's Supermarkets in Alabama filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy this week. The company anticipates no change in store operations during its restructuring.
  

Nineteen-door Chernin's Shoe Outlet has filed chapter 7 bankruptcy and will liquidate all stores. The company had a presence in seven states and has been in business since 1907.