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From Party City to The Container store, these chains are going out of business in 2024

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From Party City to The Container store, these chains are going out of business in 2024

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It’s that time of year again when most across the U.S. pack their favorite stores to buy gifts for family and friends, or to return those unwanted presents.

But in 2025, these retail stores and restaurant chains might not be around for the next holiday season after filing for bankruptcy or closing locations in 2024.

Here’s a list of companies that hit hard financial times this year:

Party City filed for Chapter 11 on Dec. 21 in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of Texas. The New Jersey-based chain already emerged from a previous bankruptcy last year with about $1 billion less in debt.

The company will put its assets up for bidding or, if there’s no sale, “initiate store closing sales to liquidate all of the Party City Group Companies’ retail and wholesale inventory and locations,” according to the filing.

Party City in Delaware

  • 1297 Churchmans Road, Stanton
  • 1047 N. Dupont Highway, Suite 1049, Dover

Texas-based retailer The Container Store announced Dec. 21 it filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy, though the CEO has since said the chain is “here to stay.”

Parent company The Container Store Group said in a press statement that the move aims to bolster the company’s financial position, calling it a “recapitalization transaction” that will “fuel growth initiatives, and drive enhanced long-term profitability.” 

The Container Store in Delaware

2200 Fashion Center Blvd., Christiana

Your favorite TGI Fridays may stick around for a bit longer after the casual dining destination filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in November.

The move will keep open 39 company-owned locations included in the bankruptcy filing, while hundreds of others the company owns in the U.S. and abroad. Restaurant locations owned and operated by third-party entity TGI Fridays Franchisor, LLC will also stay open.

However, Fridays shuttered 50 locations in the fall before filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. The company had more than 270 locations worldwide before the closures. Now, there are a little more than 160 TGI Fridays locations across the country and internationally currently open.

TGI Fridays in Delaware

  • 222 S. Dupont Highway, Dover
  • 650 S. College Ave., Newark
  • 128 N. Dupont Highway, near New Castle
  • 301 Rocky Run Parkway, Talleyville

Going-out-of-business sales at all Big Lots stores – including those in Delaware – were planned ahead of the company closing its businesses, according to a Dec. 19 announcement.

The retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in September and closed 340 stores, though none in the First State. The closures were part of a sale agreement with an affiliate of Nexus Capital Management LP, which Big Lots announced likely would not be completed.

However, on Friday, Big Lots announced a deal to keep hundreds of stores open. The retailer said a transaction with Boston-based asset liquidation firm Gordon Brothers Retail Partners would result in the transfer of 200 to 400 Big Lots stores to Variety Wholesalers Inc. of Hendersonville, North Carolina. Variety Wholesalers plans to operate the stores under the Big Lots brand, according to a press release from the companies. There is no word on whether any Delaware stores will be closed or will be among those being transferred.

Big Lots in Delaware

  • 4439 Governor Printz Blvd., Fox Point
  • 515 Dupont Highway, Dover
  • 631 N. Dupont Blvd., Milford
  • 26 Penn Mart Center, near New Castle
  • 900 Norman Eskridge Highway, Seaford

Furniture store American Freight is set to close all of its 328 locations in dozens of states as a part of Chapter 11 bankruptcy proceedings by its parent company, Franchise Group Inc.

Franchise Group, based in Delaware, Ohio, announced the closures in November as a part of the bankruptcy filing but said that its other holdings, including The Vitamin Shoppe and Buddy’s Home Furnishings, will remain in business.

American Freight in Delaware

49 University Plaza, Christiana

All buybuy Baby physical locations will close by the end of 2024, the company announced in October. The big-box baby retailer will transition to a “digital-first” brand, according to a statement from the company.

“We’ve come to the difficult decision of closing our physical stores before the end of the year. We understand this may be disappointing news, and we want you to know this wasn’t a choice we took lightly,” wrote the company. “This decision comes after listening closely to you, our incredible customers, and our valued partners. Your feedback has been invaluable in shaping this new chapter.”

buybuy Baby in Delaware

501 W. Main St., Christiana

According to the company’s third-quarter earnings report, Macy’s plans to close approximately 15 more locations after the holiday season, an increase from the previously announced 50 closures. Throughout the 2024 third quarter, the company reported net sales of $4.7 billion, a decrease of 2.4% compared to 2023 third-quarter sales.

The increased closures are part of Macy’s strategy to accelerate the closure of “non-go-forward stores,” which are underperforming locations. The company remains committed to closing a total of 150 underperforming locations by the end of 2026.

The department store chain did not specify which store locations would be closing.

Macy’s in Delaware

  • Concord Mall, 4747 Concord Pike, Brandywine Hundred
  • Christiana Mall, 501 Christiana Mall, Christiana

Party City is going out of business: Party chain closing all stores after filing for bankruptcy. How many Delaware locations?

Closing soon: At least 11 Delaware pharmacies announced closures since October. Here’s the list

Walgreens plans to close around 1,200 stores across the United States, including 500 in fiscal year 2025, the company announced in an October earnings report. The company had confirmed plans in June to close unprofitable stores, but had not disclosed how many locations would be affected.

A Walgreens in Wilmington was among the locations set to close this fall.

Walgreens is part of a wave of pharmacy closures across the United States, as independent and chain pharmacies struggle to earn profits.

Walgreens closures in Delaware since October 2023

  • 1900 Maryland Ave., near Elsmere (Feb. 21 closing date)
  • 4201 Concord Pike, Talleyville (closed November 2023)
  • 3301 Lancaster Pike, Greenville (closed November 2023)
  • 124 E. Main St., Newark (closed November 2023)
  • 32979 Coastal Highway, Bethany Beach (closed November 2023)

Walgreens in Delaware

For locations in Delaware, check here.

CVS announced in 2021 that it would close 900 stores between 2022 and 2024. In January, the chain said it would close “dozens” of pharmacies inside Target stores, but did not specify specific locations.

In October, the chain told USA Today it was laying off approximately 2,900 employees across its company and impacted positions are “primarily corporate roles,” Mike DeAngelis, executive director of corporate communications.

Delaware CVS closures since 2023

Though the company has announced plans for closings across the country, no Delaware closures of CVS locations occurred in 2023, said spokesperson Amy Thibault. As of Feb. 13, she said, no specific CVS closings are planned for Delaware in 2024.

CVS in Delaware

For CVS locations in Delaware, check here.

Rite Aid

Philadelphia-based Rite Aid, reeling from high debt and lawsuits accusing the company of overprescribing opioids, has announced it would close as many as 500 stores during a Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring that began in October. Rite Aid continues to close Delaware stores in 2024.

Rite Aid closures in Delaware since October 2023

  • 17069 S. Dupont Highway, Harrington (closed January 2024)
  • 1602 Capitol Trail, near Newark (closed January 2024)
  • 263 S. Main St., Newark (closed January 2024)
  • 3209 Kirkwood Highway, near Prices Corner (closed November 2023)
  • 2713 Philadelphia Pike, Claymont (closed November 2023)
  • 25 Chestnut Hill Plaza, near Newark (closed October 2023)
  • 1999 Pulaski Highway (Route 40), Bear

Rite Aid in Delaware

For Rite Aid locations in Delaware, check here.

The Red Lobster bankruptcy saga continued in June after the company disclosed at least 100 additional locations that the chain planned to close due to bankruptcy plans. This included at-risk locations in Delaware and others around the region.

The company abruptly closed dozens of Red Lobsters in May, in a tally that quickly reached 99 closed Red Lobsters across 28 states as the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protections.

Bankruptcy filings revealed a grim situation: A 30% drop in guests since 2019, and a mere $30 million in cash on hand against more than a billion dollars in debt to thousands of creditors.

Red Lobster in Delaware

  • 271 N. Dupont Highway, near New Castle
  • 1249 New Churchmans Road, Stanton
  • 309 Rocky Run Parkway, Talleyville

7-Eleven will be closing more than 400 underperforming stores in the U.S., its parent company said.

The 444 stores to close are among the 13,000 stores the convenience chain has in the U.S. and Canada. The company did not release a list of stores to close, which announced the plan to shutter the stores during its most recent earnings call late last week. The closures are expected to happen in the fourth quarter of this year.

7-Eleven in Delaware

For 7-Eleven locations in Delaware, check here.

Joann

Joann, the long-running crafting and fabrics retailer, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in Delaware, the company announced in March.

In a statement, the Hudson, Ohio-based retailer said it has secured approximately $132 million in new financing and “related financial accommodations.” It expects to reduce its funded debt by about $500 million, or half of its $1 billion total debt.

Joann in Delaware

  • 283 N. Dupont Highway, Suite F, Dover
  • 341 W. Main St., Christiana

Rue21 filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in a move to close all of its more than 500 stores.

Reuters reported that the teen fashion retailer plans to close all of its 543 U.S. stores in 2024 while conducting large “going out of business” sales, according to court documents filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Delaware. Rue21 also planned to sell its intellectual property.

rue21 in Delaware

  • Dover Mall, 1365 N. Dupont Highway, Space 5016A, Dover
  • Tanger Outlet, 36496 Seaside Outlet Drive, Rehoboth Beach
  • Concord Mall, 4737 Concord Pike, Brandywine Hundred

LL Flooring locations are closing nationwide, including all four in Delaware.

The flooring company, which opened in 1993, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on Aug. 12, 2024, and was set to liquidate designated stores while seeking a going-concern sale of the business. The company, formerly known as Lumber Liquidators, could not find a suitor, and on Aug. 29, the company pivoted to liquidating all of its locations.

On Sept. 6, closing sales began and will continue until no later than Nov. 30, 2024. Stores remain open for now as the sales and business wrap up for good.

There are more than 400 stores nationally.

LL Flooring in Delaware

  • 203 Naamans Road, Claymont
  • 23 University Plaza, Christiana
  • 2940 N. Dupont Highway, Dover
  • 38491 Sussex Highway, Delmar

Shane Brennan, Hannah Edelman, Matthew Korfhage and USA Network contributed to this story.

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