Retailer With Over 20 Minnesota Locations Announces It Will Close All Stores

It looks like it is the end of an era for a popular nationwide crafting supply retailer with nearly two dozen locations in Minnesota.

Joann Fabrics announced last month that it was declaring bankruptcy for the second time in two years, only this time it appears the company won't re-emerge.

Here's what we know about the closures and how long stores in Minnesota will remain open.

Why is Joann Fabrics closing its stores?

As we reported in January, Joann Fabrics has been facing difficult financial headwinds after the pandemic. The combination of customers "cutting back on discretionary spending" and supply chain difficulties in keeping store shelves stocked combined to cause significant issues for the company.

The company, which has been around for over 80 years, filed for bankruptcy in March of 2024 but was able to emerge from bankruptcy without drastically impacting its locations in Minnesota and elsewhere around the country. At the start of 2025, the company declared bankruptcy for a second time, and things are looking different this time around.

In the wake of the most recent bankruptcy news, the company announced a series of closures that included 12 Minnesota locations in places like Bemidji, Hibbing, Shakopee, Maple Grove, Mankato, and Willmar.

Stores in other locations like Duluth, St. Cloud, Brainerd, and Rochester would remain open under that plan. The situation has continued to evolve, however, as a buyer has emerged.

After filing for bankruptcy again in January of 2025, the company looked to sell off to a new owner. Some of the companies considering buying Joann Fabrics reportedly had plans to buy the company and hold going-out-of-business sales and lay off employees company-wide.

That is now what appears to be happening as the company Great American Group LLC emerged as the winning bidder in the auction to buy Joann Fabrics.

How long will Joann Fabrics stores remain open?

Biz Journals reports that this is all contingent on court approval of the sale of Joann Fabrics to the new owner GA Group. A hearing is scheduled for February 26 to review and formally approve the sale.

If the sale is approved, GA Group's CEO Scott Carpenter explained the plans to "discount every item in every store" and to empty Joann's 5 distribution centers.

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As for employees, Carpenter says "We will do our best to retain as many people as we can", though the employee retention plan is not large enough to keep every employee company-wide through the wind-down of operations.

If all goes as planned, Carpenter says most stores will remain open until the end of May of 2025.