Pier 1 Imports Files For Bankruptcy, Is Rochester Store Closing?

The Pier 1 Imports chain has now officially filed for bankruptcy, but does that mean its location in Rochester is closing?

2019 was another tough year for many retailers across the country and here in southeast Minnesota. (In fact, click HERE to check out this list of local Rochester businesses who say good-bye and closed their doors last year.) And even though we're only two months into 2020, it looks like the dire news for retailers is continuing.

Pier 1 is one of those retailers who has been struggling for a while now. It released a 'reorganization plan' earlier this year, and just this week officially filed for bankruptcy. But does that mean the Rochester location will be closing its doors?

Well, not quite. Rochester's Pier 1 Imports, located in the Crossroads Center, off South Broadway and Highway-14, near Aldi and Savers, does NOT appear on the list of stores that are closing along with its bankruptcy filing, according to USA Today.

There ARE, though, 12 Pier 1 locations across Minnesota that weren't so lucky. In fact, USA Today says Pier 1 stores in Blaine, Coon Rapids, Eagan, Eden Prairie, Mankato, Minnetonka, Oak Park Heights, Richfield, Roseville, Saint Paul, Shakopee and Saint Cloud are all slated to close later this year. Pier 1 is also closing all of its locations in Canada.

I'm no expert, of course, but this reminds me a lot of the way the Shopko bankruptcy went down last year. Remember that? First, Shopko announced they were closing all their Hometown stores along with several other locations (including Rochester's south location) while the north Rochester location still stayed open.

A few months later, though-- boom-- the entire chain under, as it couldn't find a buyer for its remaining stores, and the north Rochester location shut its doors too. Will the Pier 1 Imports in Rochester meet a similar fate later this year? I hope not, but I wouldn't be surprised if it did...

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