Another Broome County Store Reveals Plans to Close

Retail businesses in the Binghamton area are continuing to shut down at an alarming rate.

Several stores in Broome County have closed or announced plans to go out of business since the end of the holiday shopping season just over two months ago.

The latest retailer to announce it is preparing to leave its building is a discount store on Main Street in downtown Johnson City.

Signs posted at Sami Liquidation indicate the store is closing and "Everything Must Go!"

The retailer opened at the site of a former Dollar General store at 222 Main Street last March.

Many Johnson City residents remember the spot as the place where a family-owned and operated Olum's store had been located for nearly seven decades.

The liquidation shop was owned by two brothers - Sami Alwarrad and Hasan Warrad. They told WNBF News that they had operated a similar business in Brooklyn for many years.

The owners could not be reached for comment about the decision to close the store just one year after it opened.

When the Main Street building opened in 1922, it housed the Workers' Outfitting store operated by businessman Ray Hancock.

Property records show the building and an adjacent parking lot were acquired by Hafiz Ellahi of Bay Shore, Long Island in 2005 for $510,000.

A sign posted in the store indicates the site is available for sale or for lease.

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Contact WNBF News reporter Bob Joseph: bob@wnbf.com or call (607) 545-2250. For breaking news and updates on developing stories, follow @BinghamtonNow on Twitter.