Dawahare's files for bankruptcy, two stores closed, seven to follow

From the Lexington Herald-Leader:

"Store-closing sales will begin Friday at seven Dawahare's locations after a Lexington bankruptcy judge approved the closing of the stores Thursday. The sales are expected to continue until August when the stores in Owensboro, Bowling Green, Paducah, Glasgow, Maysville, Mount Sterling and Campbellsville will close. Two other stores operated by Dawahare's of Lexington LLC in Newport and in Bluefield, W.Va., already are closed and will not have sales. The closings will leave the family-owned company with 22 locations across Kentucky, where Dawahare's was founded 101 years ago by a peddler in the Eastern Kentucky coalfields. The Lexington company filed for bankruptcy reorganization last Friday, declaring $10 million in assets and $9.3 million in debts, including $4.9 million owed to Fifth Third Bank for inventory purchases."

Click here to read more. The first Dawahare's opened in Letcher County in 1907 by Serur Dawahare, an immigrant from Syria. Dawahare's has been a Kentucky tradition ever since, with community involvement and is the title sponsor of the Kentucky High School Athletic Association Hall of Fame. I hope and pray Dawahare's survives this economic slowdown.

UPDATE on Friday June 6 at 4:57pm: Another regional clothing chain, Goody's Family Clothing, is also filing for bankruptcy. Goody's has stores in Kentucky. WVLT in Knoxville, TN, where Goody's is based, has more here.