It finally happened. After years of being the go-to spot for fleece tie-blanket supplies and that one specific shade of embroidery floss, the doors have mostly swung shut. If you've walked by your local strip mall lately and noticed the iconic green sign looking a little lonely—or completely gone—you aren't alone. Honestly, it’s been a chaotic couple of years for the craft giant.
The timeline for Joann store closing dates didn't follow a neat, organized schedule. It was more like a slow-motion collapse that picked up speed until it hit a wall in mid-2025. People were confused. One week your store was "restructuring," and the next, there was a giant "Everything Must Go" sign taped to the window.
The 2025 Liquidation: How We Got Here
By the time 2026 rolled around, the Joann we knew was basically a ghost.
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The real downhill slide started in earnest during the second bankruptcy filing in early 2025. While the company tried to stay afloat after a 2024 "restructuring," it just didn't take. Debt was piling up. Consumer demand was dipping as people started tightened their belts.
In February 2025, the company dropped the hammer. They initially said they'd close about 500 stores to save the other 300. But that plan didn't last long. When a buyer willing to keep the lights on failed to materialize, the "stalking horse" bidder—usually a liquidation firm like Gordon Brothers—stepped in. By late February 2025, the message changed from "right-sizing" to "closing everything."
The Final Waves of Closures
You probably remember the clearance sales. They were intense.
The liquidators didn't waste any time. Most Joann store closing dates were clustered into two big waves during the spring of 2025.
- The April 2025 Wave: This hit over 100 locations. Places like Slidell, Louisiana, and Lynchburg, Virginia, saw their final days toward the end of April.
- The May 2025 Deadline: This was the big one. May 31, 2025, was the official "lights out" date for the remaining 440+ stores.
Locations in big hubs like Houston, Seattle, and Phoenix all followed this pattern. If your store survived past May 2025, it was likely part of a tiny handful of odd contractual overlaps, but for 99% of us, the party ended before summer started.
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Why the Store Lists Were So Messy
Searching for a "full list" of closures was a nightmare for months. Why? Because Joann kept changing their mind—or rather, the court kept changing it for them.
Initially, states like California and Florida were supposed to keep dozens of stores. Then the liquidation firm GA Global Partners took over. Suddenly, even the "safe" stores were on the chopping block. You'd see a list on Monday saying your store was fine, and by Friday, the shelves were 20% off. It felt personal for a lot of crafters.
The "optimization reviews" mentioned in late 2024 and early 2025 were basically just corporate-speak for "we’re checking which leases we can break the fastest." By the time the final bankruptcy auction ended in mid-2025, there was no "saving" any of them. The inventory was more valuable as cash than the stores were as ongoing businesses.
Where to Go Now That Joann Is Gone
It’s weird not having that specific smell of plastic flowers and fabric bolts nearby. If you're looking for where to take your business now, the landscape has shifted.
- Michaels: They jumped on the opportunity fast. In late 2025, Michaels actually started carrying more fabric and sewing supplies in select markets to catch the "Joann refugees."
- Hobby Lobby: Still a big player, obviously, though their inventory selection hits different than Joann’s specialized sewing focus.
- Local Quilt Shops: These guys are seeing a bit of a revival. Without the "big box" crushing them on price for basic cottons, some local shops are becoming the new community hubs.
- Online Giants: Places like Missouri Star Quilt Co. and even Amazon have absorbed the bulk of the specialized tool sales.
Actionable Steps for Displaced Crafters
If you still have an unspent gift card or a "class credit" from a store that closed, you’re likely out of luck. Most of those had a hard cutoff date of February 28, 2025, to be used. However, if you have a sewing machine that was in for repair at a closed location, you need to contact the manufacturer directly (like Singer or Brother). Often, those repair contracts were third-party and the machines were moved to different service centers.
Check your local "Buy Nothing" groups on Facebook. When the Joann store closing dates passed, a ton of inventory ended up in the hands of resellers and neighbors who bought in bulk at 90% off. You can often find "Joann hauls" being traded for way less than retail price even now.
The era of the massive, warehouse-sized fabric store is mostly in the rearview mirror. It’s a bummer, but the crafting community is pretty resilient. We'll find our thread somewhere else.
Keep an eye on regional liquidation auctions if you're looking for industrial shelving or cutting tables; some of the store fixtures are still popping up on local auction sites as the last of the real estate is cleared out.