Pier 1 to close Kalispell store in February

Pier 1 is the latest large retail store to announce it is leaving the Flathead Valley.

The home decor store will close Feb. 26, 2020, Store Manager Mike Arney told the Daily Inter Lake Friday.

The Kalispell store is one of 70 Pier 1 locations closing across the United States and Canada. The closing follows the recent shuttering of local chain stores such as Shopko and Payless Shoes. K-Mart in Evergreen is closing in mid-December, and the Dressbarn in Kalispell also will be closing as that company goes out of business.

On Oct. 1, the Kalispell Pier 1 transitioned to become a “Pier 1 Clearance Store” as part of the store’s gradual closure. The Kalispell location will remain a clearance store until Dec. 6, at which point they will move into “liquidation mode.”

“We’ll be selling everything right down to the tile floor,” Arney reported. “The fixtures, everything will go.”

He explained Pier 1, headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, had been planning on closing the local branch since becoming a clearance store in October.

So far, there is no one lined up to fill this most recent vacancy. Arney acknowledged the building is larger than most shops in the Kalispell area, so finding a new tenant could prove challenging. “It would have to be something pretty substantial,” he noted.

There are 12 people currently employed at Pier 1 in Kalispell.

Reporter Bret Anne Serbin may be reached at bserbin@dailyinterlake.com or 758-4459.