Walgreens Co. (847-914-2500) closed its 20-year-old store on Franklin Avenue in Minneapolis, MN because of declining sales. The nearest Walgreens is 1.5 miles from Franklin Avenue.

United Furniture Warehouse (604-430-8899) is closing stores in Everett, Lynnwood and Marysville, WA. The company may reopen the stores as Furniture Mattress Sell-Off. The furniture retailer operates 140 stores in the northwestern states and Canada.

Gottschalks (559-434-4800) is closing five of its 19 stores in WA, including four in the Puget Sound region, because the company opted not to renew the leases. The department store chain operates 71 full-line locations and 13 specialty stores in the western states.

Sears Roebuck & Co. (847-286-2500) is closings its 77,000 sq.ft. store at Crossroads Mall in Boulder, CO because the store is not meeting the company’s performance expectations following the closings of two other anchors, JCPenney and Mervyn’s. Sears owns it store at the Crossroads Mall. The company also is closing its store at Cloverleaf Mall on Midlothian Turnpike in Chesterfield County, VA. Cloverleaf Mall’s last anchor, Hecht’s, is closing in July.

Tastykake Baking Co. (215-221-8500) is closing all 12 of its thrift stores, including stores in Dickson City and Wilkes Barre Township, PA because of financial losses.

FAO Schwarz (212-644-9410) may close its Union Square store in San Francisco, CA to help try and avoid bankruptcy. The company plans to shutter approximately 70 stores. FAO Schwarz was purchased by a toy retailer, The Right Start, Inc., for $55 million earlier this year. The Right Start, which has since changed its name to FAO, Inc., also bought toy retailer Zany Brainy last year for $100 million. FAO, Inc. now operates a total of 253 retail stores nationwide.

Saks, Inc. (865-981-6243) is closing its 153,000 sq.ft. Boston store in the Northridge Mall in Milwaukee, WI because of its proximity to other company stores.

Wherehouse Music (800-943-7368) is closing its 10,000 sq.ft. store on Pacific Avenue in Santa Cruz, CA.

GAP, Inc. (949-719-0829) closed its store at Westmoreland Mall in Pittsburgh, PA because of undisclosed reasons.

Chevys Fresh Mex (800-4-Chevys) is closing its 13-year-old restaurant in the Crossroads Shopping Village in Carmel, CA because of economic reasons and because the lease expired. The company plans to open a location in Monterey, CA within two years.

Oshman’s Supersports USA (713-928-3171) and Linens ‘n Things (973-778-1300) are closings stores at The Great Mall of the Great Plains in Olathe, KS.

Rodizio Grill (303-972-0806) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection and closed its Littleton, CO location and plans to close in Highlands Ranch store. Following the closings, the company will have locations operating in Denver, CO; Houston, TX and UT.

JCPenney Co., Inc. (972-431-1000) is closing its 40,000 sq.ft. store at Sun Ray center in St. Paul, MN.

Jo-Ann Stores, Inc. (330-656-2600) is planning to close 23 stores during the balance of fiscal 2003.

Unified Western Grocers (323-264-5200) is closings its 50,000 sq.ft. SavMax Foods supermarket in Sacramento, CA, as well as two other stores in northern CA due to declining sales.

MJ Designs (214-696-5491) filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection because of declining sales. As of now, the company does not plan on closing any of its 12 stores. At its peak in 1997, MJ Designs had 57 stores and $250 million in annual revenue. The company filed for bankruptcy in 1999. A group of employees backed by the Cardinal Group bought the MJ Designs name and some of its stores and Michael J. Dupey lost control of the chain. Dupey, meanwhile, launched his third retail concept, M Port, a discount home decor accessories store in Dallas, TX.