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(NEXSTAR/WKRN) – After more than 80 years, national fabric and craft retailer JOANN is another step closer to being erased from shopping centers across the U.S. after the release of nearly 800 locations going up for sale in the coming months.
There is no fixed auction date pending bankruptcy court approval, but Mike Matlat, senior managing director with A&G Real Estate Partners, provided News 2's parent company, Nexstar, with a list of 790 retail locations and five distribution centers that could see bids by mid-April, if they aren't sold privately before that.
That list included the following 14 locations in the Volunteer State, six of which are in Middle Tennessee:
- 2020 Gunbarrel Road, Suite 198, in Chattanooga
- 2831 Wilma Rudolph Boulevard in Clarksville
- 2000 Mallory Lane, Suite 270, in Franklin
- 3150 Village Shops Drive, Suite 101, in Germantown
- 1185 Vann Drive in Jackson
- 108 Johnson City Plaza Drive in Johnson City
- 1409 E Stone Drive in Kingsport
- 276 Morrell Road in Knoxville
- 4627 Greenway Drive in Knoxville
- 2088 Gallatin Pike N in Madison
- 401 S Mt. Juliet Road, Suite 640, in Mt. Juliet
- 1923 Old Fort Parkway in Murfreesboro
- 208 Collier Drive in Sevierville
- 1600 Jackson Street, Northgate Mall, in Tullahoma
There were also eight Kentucky stores featured on the list:
- 500 Winchester Avenue, Suite 700, in Ashland
- 14569 N U.S. Highway 25 E, Unit 26, in Corbin
- 219 Towne Drive in Elizabethtown
- 87 Spiral Drive in Florence
- 376 N L Rogers Wells Boulevard in Glasgow
- 125 E Reynolds Road, Suite 110, in Lexington
- 4600 Shelbyville Road, Suite 280, in Louisville
- 5241 Frederica Street, Space 3, in Owensboro
The Hudson, Ohio-based company filed for chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January – the second time in a year – but said at the time it would keep stores open. In February, however, Joann confirmed that it would be closing all of its stores, located across 49 states.
The nationwide closures are a blow for generations of quilters, knitters and craft lovers.
"Originally I saw that I would have till May so I I was going to control myself and not come until April but as they say curiosity killed the cat and I was a little too late," one person wrote on Reddit, posting a photo of a JOANN store, shelves stripped bare. "My first time walking out of joanns empty handed and also probably my last time walking out of joanns. I COULD CRY ACTUAL TEARS."
Another wrote: "I was going to go through the sewing patterns but started thinking about how I’d been going to JoAnn since I was a kid with my mom. Then the Carpenters song 'Yesterday Once More' started playing in my head and I internally lost it and left before I embarrassed myself."
In late February, JOANN announced that financial services company GA Group was selected as the winning bidder to acquire "substantially all of Joann's assets."
"JOANN leadership, our Board, advisors and legal partners made every possible effort to pursue a more favorable outcome that would keep the company in business," JOANN said in a statement posted on its website. “We are committed to working constructively with the winning bidder to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations that minimizes the impact on all our stakeholders.”
JOANN is just the latest nationwide brand to shutter hundreds of brick and mortar locations, joining Party City, Red Lobster, Big Lots, and Advance Auto Parts.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.