RETAIL
American Home Furniture closing Comanche store in Albuquerque
The company, which filed for Chapter 11 protection in March, says its one remaining store will stay open
Published
Modified
Albuquerque鈥檚 American Home Furniture & Mattress announced Wednesday that it will be closing one of its stores as part of an effort to consolidate amid an ongoing Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection case.
The company, 90 years old this year, launched a closing sale for one of its two Albuquerque stores, located at 801 Comanche NE, on Thursday. The sale aims to clear out inventory, offering discounts of up to 75% off the store鈥檚 furniture and mattresses.
In a news release, the company called the closure a strategic move that will allow American Home Furniture to streamline operations, invest in its flagship location and better position itself for the future. The company鈥檚 flagship 鈥� now its only store at 2100 Carlisle NE 鈥� will remain open.
The Comanche store鈥檚 official closing date is up in the air, but owner Kenton Van Harten said the company is aiming to shutter it by the end of the month. The store鈥檚 roughly six employees are currently slated to transfer to the Carlisle location.
鈥淲hile we are closing our Comanche Plus location, we are not going anywhere,鈥� Van Harten said in a statement.
鈥淭his consolidation helps us focus our resources, enhance the experience at our Carlisle flagship store and continue serving New Mexico families for many years to come,鈥� Van Harten added. 鈥淲e are deeply grateful for the loyal guests who have shopped with us at Comanche, and we look forward to welcoming them just down the road at Carlisle.鈥�
The company will also be searching for a new warehouse space as the landlord of its current warehouse, attached to the Comanche store, decided not to continue leasing the space to American Home Furniture. Van Harten said some warehouse jobs could be impacted, but that the company is trying to 鈥渕inimize that as much as possible.鈥�
The loss of the warehouse, which had been one of the draws of the Comanche location, was the final confirmation Van Harten said the company needed to move forward with its restructuring efforts.
鈥淲hen the landlord kind of pulled the warehouse from under us, it just (made) all the sense in the world to just go down to one store,鈥� he said.
The Albuquerque store closure comes several weeks after American Home Furniture & Mattress filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March, allowing the company to stay in business while it restructures its finances and operations.
The filing coincided with American Home Furniture closing its northern New Mexico stores, including one in Santa Fe and one in Farmington. The company said the filing was a result of economic pressures, including tariffs and inflation, as well as challenges tied to a freeway construction project along the stretch of Interstate 25 near its Comanche store.
Closing the store will help secure the company鈥檚 future, Van Harten said, adding he is optimistic about how the company鈥檚 Chapter 11 restructuring is going.
鈥淲e feel very good about the current status,鈥� Van Harten said. 鈥淲e think we鈥檙e going to come out of this, hopefully within the next couple of months, and be much stronger and in a better position than we鈥檝e ever been.鈥�
Kylie Garcia covers retail and real estate for the Journal. You can reach her at kgarcia@abqjournal.com.
