The recent closings of department stores nationwide is beginning to affect Edina. In the early 2000s, department stores such as JoAnn Fabrics, JCPenney, and Macy’s were booming with popularity in the United States. Department stores became a staple in the U.S. economy among almost all adults and older age groups. As of recent days, however, those stores are slowly losing interest from the public.
Recently, JoAnn Fabrics announced the closing of every one of its remaining stores in the nation, after filing for bankruptcy for the second time in a year. The company was projected to close about 500 of their stores, and then finally decided to close all 800. “It was pretty sad when I heard that [JoAnn Fabrics] was closing. It’ll make projects a little bit harder because I don’t have the resources right there, and I would have to travel a bit more,” sophomore Olive DeMerit said. DeMerit attends JoAnn Fabrics quite often for projects, using mostly yarn, thread and fabric.
“I worked [at JoAnn Fabrics] for about three years, and started when I was 16. I started working there because it seemed like a happy place to work, and I really liked to knit,” senior Claire Checci, former JoAnn Fabrics employee, said. “But it was such a depressing location, it was always empty, we never had enough staff to stock it, and the shelves were always bare.”
Furthermore, JCPenney plans to close several stores nationwide—including the Southdale JCPenney which has been closed for quite some time—by mid-2025 due to expiring lease agreements, deteriorating market conditions, and other various factors. JCPenney had previously filed for bankruptcy in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic and has been in a rebuilding state ever since. Department stores have been on the decline ever since COVID-19, and it remains to be seen how their removal might affect Edina.
This piece was originally published in Zephyrus’ print edition on May 8, 2025