MANCHESTER, Conn. — Another big retailer is closing its doors for good. Christmas Tree Shops is set to close its remaining stores across the country, including four in Connecticut.
“A lot of my holiday decorations, when I take things out I think of the Christmas Tree store,” remembered Marie Parkhurst, of Glastonbury.
For many New England customers, like Parkhurst, the Christmas Tree Shops is full of memories.
“We usually come during around the holidays and I always get my signs here every year for the summer,” said Angela Brisson.
For these shoppers though, Tuesday was their last dose of Christmas in July.
“I'm kind of sad that they're closing,” Parkhurst said.
Christmas Tree Shops is set to close all remaining stores by August, after the Massachusetts-based chain filed for bankruptcy in May.
“I told my niece, I said we've got to go to Christmas Tree Shops when I get here,” Debbie Bushnell of Coventry explained. “I used to come here all the time. I love just coming here and looking around and browsing. You never know what you're going to see.”
While there aren’t any blowout sales yet, the Manchester location was so busy Tuesday, some shoppers decided to try their luck later.
“I didn't think it was going to be this busy around the holiday,” Brisson said. “So I was like hoping that we could get in and get out, but we're just going to come back later and hopefully it will be less busy.”
Others braved the long lines for a final nostalgic trip.
“We figured we better get here before everybody picks over everything,” said Bruce Parkhurst.
“I thought nobody will be here. We thought, ‘Oh, we'll be in and out in a breeze,’” Bushnell continued. “Well, we weren’t.”
While some were mourning the end of these stores, Tuesday’s purchases will still carry those memories.
“Things that we know we've needed and just have never picked them up,” Parkhurst added. “So we figured might as well get them.”
Emma Wulfhorst is a political reporter for FOX61 News. She can be reached at ewulfhorst@fox61.com. Follow her on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
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