'Step-By-Step' Liquidation Marking Demise Of EbLens Stores In CT

CONNECTICUT — EbLens stores in Connecticut are in the midst of meticulous liquidation sales that will eventually mark their disappearance from the retail landscape after more than a half-century with deep roots in the state.

All 18 Connecticut locations will eventually close. There is no formal timetable and the proceedings are not part of the federal Chapter 7 bankruptcy system. Rather, EbLens has embarked on a private liquidation to appease creditors under Delaware state law, according to Steven Victor, the senior managing director of DSI Consulting, the Chicago-based form retained to oversee the process.

Stores will close when their respective inventories are adequately depleted, he said.

"It's a step-by-step process," Victor said. "Some will close soon, others gradually. The numbers will be reduced because this is a definite liquidation."

The efforts seem to be on the aggressive side. Take the EbLens store at Manchester's Shoppes at Buckland Hills mall, for example. Signs proclaiming "Store Closing" and "Nothing Held Back," seemed to take up most of the window and aisle space Tuesday.

"Bargains" of up to 30 percent off were being advertised.

The EbLens chain originated "in the streets of New Britain" in 1949 when friends Ebner "Eb" Glooskin and Leonard "Len" Seaman decided to open their first store. In 2023, EbLens was boasting the 18 stores in Connecticut. It specializes in "sneakers and streetwear," according to a company profile on its website.

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In addition to New Britain, Connecticut locations include:

• Manchester
• East Hartford
• Wethersfield
• Bloomfield
• Farmington
• Willimantic
• Meriden
• West Haven
• East Haven
• New Haven
• Waterbury
• Danbury
• Bridgeport
• Trumbull
• Milford
• Waterford
• Norwich