STORY BY CAROL ROEHM
Cars filled the parking lot and the shelves were far from bare at K’s Merchandise in Danville this week.
Inside the store, shoppers pushed carts or carried armfuls of treasures as they browsed the inventory now selling for up to 70 percent off.
The store at 3707 N. Vermilion St., which dubs itself a catalog showroom, will close in a week after being a part of Danville’s retail landscape for nearly 30 years.
The Decatur-based retailer announced in early October it was going out of business and would close all 17 of its stores across the Midwest, including the Danville location that employed 57 full- and part-time workers.
Patti Kuykendall of Georgetown, a 10-year employee in K’s housewares/gifts department, said employees learned earlier this week that Jan. 14 would be the last day the store would be open to the public. K’s Merchandise filed paper-work with the city clerk’s office stating Jan. 19 as its closing date.
“There will be a few dark days (after Jan. 14) to sell off fixtures,” she said.
There was no shortage of work for Kuykendall, one of 25 employees left at the Danville location.
Pushing a shopping cart filled with dishes, Kuykendall and others busily stocked shelves with merchandise trucked over from the Champaign store, which closes this weekend.
What will happen to the merchandise that doesn’t sell by Jan. 14?
“My guess is what’s left will go to a liquidator,” she said.
Kuykendall said she’s sad to see the store close after working there for a decade.
She has a job lined up at the Westville IGA.
Shoppers also were feeling a little misty-eyed.
Laura Schmidt of Tilton juggled two large decorative ceramic plaques for her son and daughter-in-law’s kitchen and a red glass mosaic candleholder for herself as she browsed one of the first aisles in the store.
“It’s sad,” she said of the store closing. “I’m getting tears in my eyes just thinking about it.”
Like many shoppers, Schmidt enjoyed the store’s jewelry selection.
“I’ve been buying jewelry here for years,” she said.
Sharon Bostwick of Oakwood, who picked out three embroidered baby blankets for her great-great-niece who will be born in March, showed off a glittery gift her husband, Ken, purchased from K’s.
“I have a new diamond ring for Christmas that came from here that I wouldn’t have had otherwise,” she said, holding out her hand.
Tina Holliday of Perrysville, Ind., with her children in tow, finally decided to buy a large metal star for her home she’s had her eye on.
“We’ve been stopping in here once a week,” she said. “They’re moving stuff around, so we see something new each time.”
Not everyone left K’s with a purchase, though.
Joshua Cooprider of Danville and his wife, Angela, were looking for kitchen chairs. Even with the discounted prices, he said, “I can get the same ones at Wal-Mart for the same price.”
City officials are confident the K’s Merchandise property won’t sit vacant for long.
Shortly after K’s announced it was going out of business, Mayor Scott Eisenhauer said he fielded phone calls from at least four nationally recognized, franchised retailers interested in the property.
John Heckler, director of public development, said he’s been told by area Realtors that the K’s Merchandise property, as well as the land around it, “is desirable.”
“It has a traffic light,” he said, referring to the entrance to the property. “It is a site that has advantages.
“The K’s building could be developed as part of a larger project.”
