Stores You Won’t Be Seeing In Maryland In 2019

MARYLAND — The beloved chain Toys R Us was likely the most high-profile retail closure in 2018, but it’s just one of many stores that you won’t be seeing in 2019. And while 2018 may have seemed like the year of closures, the number of stores shuttering was not as high as in 2017.

According to Coresight Research, U.S. retailers have announced 5,436 store closures in 2018 as of Dec. 19. That's down from the 8,139 store closures in 2017, according to the retail research company's analysis.

We’ve compiled a list of major closures announced in 2018. Stores may have already closed or will shutter in 2019. In some cases, chains are staying in business but closing individual stores.

Toys R Us

After much speculation about the company’s future, Toys R Us announced in March 2018 that it would be shutting down its operations in the U.S., closing 735 stores. The iconic toy store closed all of its locations in the U.S. by late June, including 17 Toys R Us stores in Maryland: Annapolis, Baltimore, Bel Air, Clarksburg, Clinton, Columbia, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Glen Burnie, Hagerstown, Owings Mills, Oxon Hill, Pasadena, Salisbury, Silver Spring, Towson and Waldorf.

The closures came months after Toys R Us filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in September 2017 as it struggled to compete with retail giant Amazon and stores like Walmart.

Signs at the Bel Air Toys R Us in October 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Janney.

Sears

The Illinois-based company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, announcing it would close 142 unprofitable locations, including five stores in Maryland: Bowie, Columbia and Westminster Sears as well as the Oxon Hill and Prince Frederick Kmart shops. Those stores will close by the end of 2018, while the Bethesda Sears will close in February 2019; the latter was announced in November as part of a set of 40 store closings nationwide.

That means 11 Sears stores will remain in the state of Maryland by March 2019: Annapolis, Bel Air, Cumberland, Frederick, Gaithersburg, Glen Burnie, Salisbury, Security Square, Silver Spring, Waldorf and White Marsh.

Pictured, Sears at The Mall in Columbia will close Dec. 31. Photo by Elizabeth Janney.

Mattress Firm

The Houston-based retailer Mattress Firm filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in October, announcing it planned to close 200 stores in the immediate future and planned for up to 700 closures total.

In November, the company said it was moving forward with an optimized store footprint of approximately 2,600 stores. In Maryland, 11 Mattress Firm locations closed: Aberdeen, Baltimore, Bel Air, Catonsville, Clarksburg, Frederick, Halethorpe, Nottingham, Rockville, Towson and Woodlawn.

More than 40 stores remain in the state, including some in the above listed areas where Mattress Firm may have had more than one location.

Pictured, Halethorpe Mattress Firm, now closed. Photo by Elizabeth Janney.

Brookstone

Brookstone also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in 2018. The company announced in August that it was hiring liquidators to close its roughly 100 mall locations, including stores in the Towson Town Center and The Mall in Columbia.

Brookstone said it hopes to keep open 35 remaining airport stores.

Photo of the new tenant in the former Brookstone at The Mall in Columbia by Elizabeth Janney.

Lowe’s

Lowe’s announced in November that it planned to close 20 stores in the U.S. by the end of February as well as 31 in Canada. Four of the closures were in California; two were in Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and New York; and these states contained one store closing: Alabama, Connecticut, Indiana, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Pennsylvania and Texas.

None of the Maryland stores was among the closures.

Bon-Ton

The Wisconsin company, which operated department stores under names like Bergner’s, Carson’s and Boston Store, closed all of its stores in 2018. The Bon-Ton store at Valley Mall in Hagerstown shuttered at the end of February.

SEE MORE:

• 2 Maryland Brookstone Stores Among 101 Mall Locations Closing
• Calendar Store Opens In Former Maryland Brookstone
• 11 Maryland Mattress Firm Stores Close As Brand Files Chapter 11
• Sears Closing 5 Stores In Maryland As Company Declares Bankruptcy
• Maryland Sears Store Closing In Latest Round
• Columbia Sears Closing Date Is Approaching By End Of 2018
• Toys R Us May Come Back To MD In Surprise Move
• What May Replace Closed Toys R Us Locations In MD
• 13 Toys R Us Locations In Maryland Get Final Closing Day

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Pictured, the former Toys R Us location in Bel Air in October 2018. Photo by Elizabeth Janney.