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“We decided to cut expenses,” James Kufro said Wednesday. “We are taking that store in Shenandoah and that store in Mahanoy City and combining them with our location in the (Schuylkill) Mall to serve the entire area from one location.”
The Bargain Anney has been a fixture in downtown Shenandoah for 24 years.
“We will really miss them,” Downtown Shenandoah Inc. Manager Mary Luscavage said Wednesday. “It is a blow to the downtown, but we will look for another business to fill the location.”
According to Kufro, the Mahanoy City 5 & 10 has been in business 18 years.
The couple believes the double expenses — two heating bills, maintenance on both properties and other costs — became too much to keep up.
The Kufros also currently run a holiday accessory store in the former Fashion Bug space at the mall, offering everything from gift wrap to cookware at discount prices.
That location was busy Wednesday as much of the inventory was marked down to clear out the remaining Christmas items. The couple will close this spot Jan. 1 but are hoping to reopen in early February with a variety of items at discount prices that were offered at the downtown locations.
“We made the decision about a week before Christmas to continue the move to the mall location,” Kufro said. “We have been looking at the mall for a while now, waiting for the right spot, and this seems to be the right spot. Hopefully we can energize the space with some bargains.”
Kufro ran a similar store in the Cressona Mall for about 14 years before closing four years ago.
“The mall has a draw and we are hoping to reach more customers from this one location,” Kufro said.
Kufro said one employee in the Shenandoah store was let go but the others are invited to work at the mall store.
“We only had a total of four employees,” he said. “Anyone that wants to come work at the mall is welcome.”
Kufro, who lives in Shenandoah Heights, will always have a soft spot in his heart for both locations but has special feelings for Shenandoah.
“We really enjoyed good business in Shenandoah and Mahanoy City for many years, but Shenandoah was really our home store,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been there for so many years if we didn’t enjoy the town and the people. My heart will always be in Shenandoah.”
The Kufros own both the Shenandoah and Mahanoy City buildings and “for sale” signs were placed in the windows of each.
“We would like to sell the buildings but do not have any immediate plans,” Kufro said. “And who knows — we could be back.”
