National Retail Chain Now Closing 12 Locations in Minnesota
We're only in the middle of February 2025 yet the business closings have continued, with another popular retailer saying they're planning on closing a dozen locations here in Minnesota later this year.
Yes, the retail landscape here in the Land of 10,000 Lakes is shifting again as another well-known business plans to close multiple locations across the state this year. It's a move that has been much more familiar in Minnesota in the five years since the pandemic completely changed our lives, and how we buy goods and services.
Retail is big business here in the Bold North, with retailers now being the nation's largest private-sector employer, helping to drive the U.S. economy and create jobs in communities around the country and here at home. According to the National Retail Federation (NRF), 25 percent of all jobs here in the North Star State are supported by the retail industry.
READ MORE: This Popular Convenience Store Has Closed All Of Its Locations in Minnesota
So when word dropped recently that arts and crafts retailer Joann is closing about 500 of its 800 stores nationally, we wondered if any Minnesota locations would be affected. And sure enough, 12 stores here in our fair state made the list of locations set to be closed, Joann said in a release.
The Joann chain was founded in 1943, and has 'grown from a favorite fabric destination to your one-stop shop for sewing, knitting, crocheting, crafting and decorating your home for every season,' their website notes.
Joann operates approximately 850 stores in 49 states, including 21 locations here in Minnesota, its website said. But after filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January (its second time in bankruptcy in less than a year, Axios noted), it's now closing the following Minnesota locations:
- Apple Valley
- Bemidji
- Coon Rapids
- Elk River
- Faribault
- Hibbing
- Hutchinson
- Mankato
- Maple Grove
- Shakopee
- Wilmar
- Woodbury
READ MORE: This Classic Minnesota Restaurant Is Also Closing Its Doors For Good
No word yet on just *when* those stores will shut their doors. Hopefully, this restructuring and downsizing will help Joann keep its remaining Minnesota stores open. Staying open was definitely *not* the case for the following brands, however. Keep scrolling to check out 50 once-beloved retail chains that weren't successful and are now not around anywhere anymore.
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LOOK: 50 Beloved Retail Chains That No Longer Exist
Gallery Credit: Madison Troyer
