Following a Dec. 21 announcement from party supply retailer Party City that the company would be closing down all stores, a handful of stores owned by local franchisers will remain open, including one in Shenandoah, according to the local owners.

What you need to know

Abston Enterprise Group owns and operates two Party City locations in the Houston area and said in an announcement on social media the locations in Shenandoah and Humble will remain open under the current franchise owners.

"Anyone that knows me well knows what hardship there has been with retail and with the way the corporation tied our hands. Look at us now ... the ones still standing. Soon we will be free to do what we want and sell what we want and online too," franchise owner Emily Morgan said. "We will have some challenges of getting a whole new system up and going fast, but I’m so excited for what the new year has in store for us."

The big picture


According to a news release statement by Party City CEO Barry Litwin, the company filed for bankruptcy and will close all Party City-owned locations in January.

"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," owners said in the news release.