By SHELLEY TERRY - Staff Writer - sterry@starbeacon.com
ASHTABULA TOWNSHIP — Waldenbooks in Ashtabula Towne Square will close in January as part of its parent company’s plan to close stores across the nation.
Borders Group Inc., the second-largest U.S. bookstore chain, said Friday it will close about 200 Waldenbooks and Borders stores. The closings will result in the loss of about 1,000 jobs.
Employees at the local Waldenbooks refused to comment on the scheduled closing.
The Ashtabula Towne Square Waldenbooks opened in 1993, when the Ashtabula Mall opened.
“We are so sad to see them leave, it’s a terrible loss for the community,” said Michelle Lefkowitz, marketing director for Ashtabula Towne Square. “But it’s out of our control. It’s a corporate decision, a reflection of what they have going on.”
On the bright side, several new stores are opening in the mall for the holidays, she said.
Borders, based in Ann Arbor, Mich., said the closings would leave about 130 Waldenbooks stores in business.
After January, bookworms will have to travel to Mentor or Erie, Pa., to find a Waldenbooks, store officials said.
The news of another store closing comes seven months after Finish Line and King’s Jewelry left Ashtabula Towne Square, and not quite a year after Claire’s, the Yum Yum Tree and Spencer’s Gifts left the mall.
Even so, Towne Square’s owners invested more than $3.5 million in improvements to the property. The parking lot and entrance drives received extensive upgrades, as well as the building’s facade and interior. The old sign at the entrance is gone, replaced with a jazzy new sign. The mall also features new soft-seating areas, a children’s play area, a community room and a large entertainment zone with wireless Internet access and big-screen televisions.
