Permanent signage has gone up at 2A Bureau Drive in Gaithersburg, confirming that Prime Furniture & Mattress Gallery is preparing to move into the space once occupied by JOANN Fabrics & Crafts. The storefront has sat empty since the craft chain closed its Gaithersburg location in 2025, and the new signage is the clearest sign yet that a replacement tenant is finally on the way.
According to The MoCo Show, which first reported the signage installation, Prime Furniture & Mattress Gallery is taking over the space formerly occupied by JOANN Fabrics & Crafts and is preparing to open at the Bureau Drive address. The outlet notes that the company has not announced an official opening date. The Gaithersburg closure was part of a much larger retail shakeup; as MoCoShow has previously reported, JOANN's nationwide shutdown resulted in the liquidation and closure of approximately 800 stores across the country.
A National Pattern of Furniture Stores Moving Into Old Craft Aisles
Gaithersburg is far from alone in watching a furniture retailer step into JOANN's old footprint. In Bel Air, Maryland, Bob's Discount Furniture is set to take over the former JOANN Fabrics space at 615 Baltimore Pike in the Tollgate Marketplace, according to a report from leetessier.com, which described the roughly 46,000-square-foot anchor space. As in Gaithersburg, that report noted a final grand-opening date hadn't been posted on the front door yet.
Bob's Discount Furniture is also expanding into a former JOANN Fabric and Crafts location at 6910 S. Lindbergh Blvd. in St. Louis County, Missouri, per Call Newspapers, which reports the new site will be the retailer's third location in the county. That outlet notes crews were still refitting the building's lighting and plumbing systems for the new tenant.
Other Furniture Conversions Show Timelines Can Vary Widely
In Bloomington, Indiana, a former JOANN building is being remodeled for an Ashley Furniture store, with the building permit calling for a two-story structure covering 28,700 square feet, according to the Herald-Times. That outlet reported the opening date for the new store was simply unclear at the time.
Florida has already seen a completed version of this transition. The Ocala JOANN location closed in May amid the nationwide wave of store closures, and the Ocala Furniture Outlet has since taken over the shuttered space along State Road 200, according to Ocala-News.com. That store opened on July 11 at 2405 SW 27th Avenue, Suite 102, in the Shady Oaks Shopping Center, and the outlet reports it now runs seven days a week, from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m., except Sundays, when hours run 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
What Remains Unknown in Gaithersburg
For now, Gaithersburg shoppers only have the signage to go on. No square footage, hours, ownership details, or product lineup for Prime Furniture & Mattress Gallery's Bureau Drive location have been made public, and no official opening date has been announced. Based on how long similar conversions have taken in Bel Air, Bloomington, and St. Louis County, Gaithersburg residents may be watching that storefront for a while before the doors finally open.
