End of an Era: Last Remaining Gottschalks Shuttered

Farewell, Gottschalks: Gottschalks department stores, such as the one in Capitola, Calif., pictured above, will close Sunday.

Sunday will be the last day of business for the 105-year-old department-store chain Gottschalks Inc.

The Fresno, Calif.-based retailer for rural and small-town areas ran 58 locations in the Western United States. It made a decision to liquidate March 30 after declaring bankruptcy in January. The chain’s executives spent more than four years trying to resuscitate its business.

During the last week of its business, Gottschalks locations were selling the last few threads of its inventory as well as store fixtures such as mannequins, mirrors and shelving, according to the July 8 issue of the Modesto Bee newspaper. Retailers such as Macy’s will take over the Gottschalks location in Visalia, Calif., according to the Visalia Times-Delta newspaper. The fate of other locations is still up in the air.

Gottschalks' liquidation leaves a handful of regional department stores in the United States. Reading, Pa.-based Boscov’s runs 39 department stores in the Northeast. Davenport, Iowa-based Von Maur maintains a fleet of more than 22 stores in the Midwest.