Vestal JOANN Fabrics Store - and All Locations

A virtually new JOANN Fabric and Craft store in Vestal is about to be shut down.

The 30,000-square-foot Parkway Plaza location opened less than two years ago, replacing a smaller Vestal store that had operated for decades.

Problems for JOANN stores had been escalating after the company filed for bankruptcy protection last March. A planned restructuring for the business was unsuccessful and and second bankruptcy filing occurred last month.

Although about 500 JOANN locations were targeted for closure, it appeared many - including the Vestal Parkway store - would continue to operate. But those plans were scrapped after a liquidator called GA Group won a bid to acquire most of the company's assets.

JOANN on Monday announced that the liquidator intended to wind down operations at all stores. Going-out-of-business sales are planned at all JOANN locations.

It was not immediately clear when the Vestal store would close but it's expected to happen sometime in May.

Jo-Ann Fabric Shops have been a fixture in Broome County for more than 50 years.

The first local store opened in the Endicott Plaza in 1973. That was followed a short time later by the opening of a location in the Binghamton Plaza and then a store in the Oakdale Mall in Johnson City.

The three Broome County stores eventually closed when the company set up a single location on the Vestal Parkway.

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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.