These 16 Chain Stores Shuttered Their California Doors In 2020

CALIFORNIA — Businesses across the U.S. faced unprecedented challenges with the coronavirus pandemic and ongoing public health crisis, including chain stores.

Here are several companies that closed their doors in 2020 during the economic fallout from the pandemic:

1) Macy’s

The department store chain in early February announced plans to close 125 stores over the next three years, around a fifth of its brick-and-mortar footprint.

2) Pier 1

The home furnishings chain in May announced plans to shutter all of its 541 stores. The company said it would reopen its stores after the pandemic but only long enough to sell off its inventory.

3) Victoria’s Secret

The women’s undergarment chain in May announced plans to permanently close about 250 stores in the United States and Canada by the end of this year.

4) GNC

The supplement chain in June filed for bankruptcy and announced plans to close 27 California stores and between 800 to 1,200 stores nationwide.

5) Nordstrom

The department store chain in May announced it would close 16 of its 116 full-line stores.

6) J.C. Penney

The department store chain in June announced it would close 154 locations, including eight in California.

7) 24 Hour Fitness

The fitness chain in June filed for bankruptcy and closed more than 130 location including 42 in California. The company still operates more than 300 locations in 13 states.

8) Gold’s Gym

The fitness chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in May. It announced the permanent closure of about 30 U.S. company-owned gyms. The filing impacts about 10 percent of its nearly 700 global locations.

"Gold's Gym has been the world's trusted fitness authority for more than 50 years, and we can assure our members that our company-owned gym in Venice is absolutely not going anywhere," Adam Zeitsiff, Gold's Gym President & CEO, told Patch.

9) California Pizza Kitchen

The non-traditional pizzeria announced in July it was filing for voluntary Chapter 11 protection. CPK closed some locations but the company said it plans to keep most open.

10) Sizzler

The Mission Viejo-based budget steakhouse declared bankruptcy in September, but the company said it planned to keep its restaurants open throughout its bankruptcy proceedings.

11) Souplantation (Southern California)/Sweet Tomatoes (Northern California)

The buffet-style restaurant chain announced in May it was permanently closing all locations, including 44 in California. The closures put 4,400 employees out of work.

12) Specialty's Cafe & Bakery

The Bay Area-based restaurant chain in May announced it was permanently closing all of its more than 50 locations.

13) J. Crew

The preppy clothier was the first major retailer in the U.S. to file for bankruptcy after the pandemic started.

14) Neiman Marcus

The luxury retailer filed for bankruptcy in early May.

15) YogaWorks

The largest yoga chain in the U.S. — YogaWorks — filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy due to the pandemic and shuttered more than 60 studios. The company still offers online classes and teacher training courses.

16) MUJI

The Japanese retailer closed its doors in California, including Third Street Promenade, Hollywood, Santa Anita, Stanford, San Jose, Santa Monica and SOMA. The company announced in July that it was restructuring its U.S. operations due to the pandemic.

"Thank you for 8 wonderful years in California," the company said in a statement. "We hope you will continue to shop with us online, our websites remain fully operational and our customer service experts are always available to answer any questions you may have."

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Patch staffers Renee Schiavone, Courtney Teague, Bea Karnes, Kristina Houck, Ashley Ludwig, Shannon Antinori, Gideon Rubin, Beth Dalbey and Nicole Charky contributed to this report.

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