Two Triangle retail staples are bowing out at once, and regulars are already feeling the loss. Bull City Records in downtown Durham is retiring after 20 years, and an Eddie Bauer outlet at the Carolina Premium Outlets in Smithfield is in full liquidation mode. Both shops have rolled out sales and end-of-the-line timelines that will erase familiar stops from local shopping maps by the end of April.
Bull City Records' final month
Owner Charles "Chaz" Martenstein is calling time on Bull City Records, saying he will launch retirement sales as the shop winds down operations. Sales are scheduled to begin April 8, and Martenstein says the store will stay open through the end of April while he tweaks hours and ratchets up discounts, according to WUNC. Longtime customers and local musicians quickly flooded the announcement with messages of thanks, a reminder of how deeply the store has been woven into Durham's music scene.
Eddie Bauer liquidation hits Triangle outlet
The Eddie Bauer location at Carolina Premium Outlets in Smithfield is caught up in a chainwide liquidation after the retailer's U.S. operator filed for Chapter 11 earlier this year. The operator, a unit of Catalyst Brands, kicked off liquidation sales and has said physical stores will close by April 30 unless a buyer steps in, according to Fox Business. Locally, The News & Observer reports the Smithfield outlet was already in its final liquidation phase as of March 31 and has been the Triangle's last remaining Eddie Bauer storefront.
What this means for shoppers and workers
Liquidation sales come with fine print that is not exactly shopper-friendly. Court documents reviewed by reporters show gift cards and rewards were accepted only through mid-March at many locations and that all going-out-of-business sales are final. Reporting that dug into the bankruptcy case lays out those restrictions and notes that the company canceled a planned auction after receiving no qualified bids, per The Street. For employees, the pattern is familiar and grim: liquidations typically mean layoffs, reduced hours or transfers as leases are surrendered and stores go dark.
If you want to shop while the doors are still open, Bull City Records lists its hours and sale details on its site and plans to run scaled-back hours through late April, according to Bull City Records. The Carolina Premium Outlets center, at 1025 Outlet Center Dr. in Smithfield, is handling the Eddie Bauer liquidation at that mall space, per the center's information. Expect the broader liquidation process to wrap up around April 30, when most U.S. Eddie Bauer stores are slated to shut their doors if no buyer appears, according to Fox Business.
