What’s happening
In a Facebook post, Anisa Patel, whose family owns the Party City locations at Balcones Woods Shopping Center and Sunset Valley Village, said that the locations are “very much still in business” and that they “plan to continue serving the community for all party needs.”
Larry Dugar, the store manager for the Balcones Woods location, confirmed the news.
“We’re a privately owned franchise that bought into the location independently,” Dugar said. “[The closures] won’t affect us.”
The background
Party City has been experiencing financial challenges for the last few years. The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in January 2023 and closed more than 65 of their 750 stores. The move helped them clear nearly $1 billion in debt, but it was not enough to keep the company afloat. On Dec. 20, Party City CEO Barry Litwin announced in a corporate teleconference that the company is again filing for bankruptcy and will be winding down employment effective immediately, according to reporting from CNN.
"Like many retailers, we’ve been operating in an immensely challenging environment with inflationary pressures on both costs and consumer spending, and while we did everything we could to navigate these headwinds, our very best efforts were ultimately not enough to overcome these challenges," said a post from the Party City team on the company's website.
Many locations will be liquidating their stock over the next few months, but the locations owned by Patel and her family will only be be offering the store's usual holiday deals, said Mike Ortiz, manager of the Sunset Village location.
