SOUTHINGTON — The Bed Bath & Beyond location at 835 Queen St. will be permanently closing its doors sometime in March. Though no specific date has yet been given, the company announced its decision on Tuesday to close the location along with 87 other “low producing” stores across the country.
The decision comes as part of a new round of closures in the midst of Bed Bath & Beyond’s bankruptcy proceedings. Also announced were the closure of five buybuy Baby and all 50 of its Harmon stores — on top of the 120 other locations already slated to close.
The company is also closing three other Connecticut locations in Wethersfield, Fairfield, and Enfield.
Bed Bath & Beyond has experienced financial woes for the past several years, exacerbated by the pandemic and the recent economic downturn. The company revealed last week that it had defaulted on its loans, putting the future of the company in “substantial doubt,” as liquidation becomes more likely without a buyer.
“As we work with our advisors to consider multiple paths, we are implementing actions to manage our business as efficiently as possible,” a representative with Bed Bath & Beyond said. “As such, Bed Bath & Beyond has decided to close the Southington, CT location in the coming months … While the decision to close a store is always a difficult one, customers can shop online.”
Town Councilor Mike DelSanto, chairman of the town’s Economic Strike Committee, said the economic trends that impacted chains like Bed Bath & Beyond are the same that have impacted small businesses like Zingarella, a Plantsville restaurant set to close this month. They are casualties of rising inflation and an economic downturn that have kept Southington residents from being able to go out and shop.
“This is going to, unfortunately, be the short term wave of the future. This is what we’re going to see,” DelSanto said. “Businesses are barely holding on after the pandemic, and now with inflation at an all time high and failed legislation at the federal level, gas prices are going up, home heating prices are going up. People aren’t shopping. This is what you get.”
DelSanto, a Republican, reiterated his committee’s commitment to keep attracting new business to Southington, with the potential of a survey being undertaken by Economic Development Director Louis Perillo that would see how best to attract new business owners to the West Street corridor.
“We may be doing a study to see what we can do to attract business, to attract other entities to come to town and try to help the tax base. So we’re not going to lay down and die. We’re going to do what we can to proactively engage and make sure that things continue to be prosperous for Southington,” DelSanto said.
Further details on the closure of the Bed Bath & Beyond locations are expected to be announced over the coming weeks.