BUSINESS
WEDNESDAY, MAY 20, 2020
HERMISTONHERALD.COM • A7
IN THE WORKS
TruCare Pregnancy Clinic in new building
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Hermiston residents who
frequently
travel South-
east 11th Street
have
asked
what the pre-
viously empty
storage build-
ing on the cor-
ner of 11th and Jade
Hartley Ave- McDowell
NEWS EDITOR
nue will hold
once it is done
with renovations.
The building at 140 SW
11th St. is now fi nished, other
than some small touches,
such as signage, and it is the
new home of TruCare Preg-
nancy Clinic, previously
known as TruCare Preg-
nancy Resource Center.
Kristi Atkins, executive
director of the clinic, said the
new space is several times
larger than the support cen-
ter’s previous location at
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
TruCare Pregnancy Clinic just moved into this newly
remodeled building on Southwest 11th Street in Hermiston.
Granary Square. It will allow
the center to offer new ser-
vices, including free ultra-
sounds for expectant mothers
as soon as TruCare is able to
hire a nurse to perform them.
The center provides
“life-affi rming” support to
expectant mothers, includ-
ing pregnancy tests, coun-
seling, parenting classes and
supplies, such as diapers.
Emergency services, such as
pregnancy tests, have been
available by appointment
through the pandemic. But as
restrictions lift, Atkins said
they have opened their new
building to walk-ins and will
restart their classes soon.
In other news, the Max-
well Market has confi rmed
that the farmers market will
open from 4-8 p.m. on May
28 at the Maxwell Pavilion.
Details on how the market
will implement social dis-
tancing during the 2020 sea-
son will be announced later
this week.
If you have been wonder-
ing about the construction at
the corner of North Highway
395 and Punkin Center, that
site will be the home of a new
Roger’s Toyota location later
this year.
The dealership plans to
leave its current lot down the
road and move into a much
larger, more modern building
with additional service bays
and more parking for inven-
tory when construction is
complete this fall. The plans
include a 30,000-square-foot
building with three enclosed
drive-thru lanes.
Cottage Flowers announces closure
By JADE MCDOWELL
NEWS EDITOR
Cottage
Flowers
announced last week that
they are closing their doors
after 32 years in business.
The Hermiston fl oral shop,
owned and operated by the
Ego and Spoo extended fam-
ilies, announced the closure
in a long Facebook post, not-
ing the decision “has been in
the works for some time and
is not, in any way, the result
of the current pandemic.”
“As a family, we are ready
for retirement and the next
chapter ahead,” they wrote.
The store ended its fl oral
services with Mother’s Day
weekend, but they plan to
open their doors one last time
sometime in the future to
hold a fi nal sale of their retail
Staff photo by Jade McDowell
A “for lease” sign sits out front of Cottage Flowers, which is
closing its doors in Hermiston after 32 years.
inventory. The other busi-
nesses in the Cottage Plaza,
where the shop is located at
1725 N. First St., will remain
open.
The business started out
on Main Street, according to
the post, before moving to the
Hermiston Plaza and fi nally
to its current location, which
once served as Hermiston’s
armory.
“Over time, we have seen
so many trends and styles
come and go, but this com-
munity’s support of our small
business always remained
steadfast,” the family wrote.
“Owning this business for
so long means we have had
the privilege of having a
role in helping people in our
community commemorate
and celebrate so many life
moments and milestones.
From new babies, sweet six-
teens, get well soons and high
school proms to graduations,
holidays, job promotions,
weddings and funerals, we
have been a part of it all.”
Bealls’ owner fi les for
bankruptcy protection
By PHIL WRIGHT
EO MEDIA GROUP
The parent company of
Bealls and other depart-
ment stores fi led May 10
for bankruptcy protection,
unable to climb out of a
fi nancial hole the COVID-
19 pandemic made even
deeper.
Houston-based Stage
Stores Inc. in a press
release also announced it
will simultaneously seek
buyers for all or parts of
its business and “initiate
an orderly wind-down of
operations.”
The company did not
return requests for com-
ment on how the move
affects the Hermiston
Bealls, which before the
COVID-19 shutdown of
nonessential retailers in
Oregon was transforming
into a Gordmans store, also
owned by Stage.
The company operates
Bealls, Goody’s and Pal-
ais Royal, primarily in rural
communities, and off-price
stores under the Gord-
mans brand, and employs
approximately 14,700 peo-
ple at roughly 700 stores
across 42 states, accord-
ing to the court documents
it fi led in U.S. Bankruptcy
Court in Houston, its base
of operations.
Bealls has a few stores
in Oregon, including in
La Grande, Hermiston,
Klamath Falls and Hood
River. The La Grande store
opened in 2009. Stage
Stores closed its properties
due to the COVID-19 pan-
demic. Signs on the inside
of the windows at the La
Grande Bealls explain the
store remains closed until
the state lifts the restric-
tions to curb the spread of
the virus.
Stage Stores in its press
release stated it is tak-
ing a phased approach
to reopening its stores
in the coming weeks to
liquidate inventory.
The company antici-
pates reopening 624 stores
this month and the “bal-
ance of the chain” on June
4. Stage Stores also will
end the wind-down at cer-
tain locations if it receives
a viable going-concern bid.
The company’s Chapter
11 fi ling listed total assets
as of Nov. 2, 2019 at more
than $1.7 billion and total
liabilities at a little more
than $1 billion. The com-
pany owes more than $3.6
million to Nike Inc., its
top creditor, and almost
$487,000 to its 50th-ranked
creditor, the footwear
company Caleres Inc. of
Missouri.
Michael Glazer, Stage
Stores president and CEO,
in the press release stated
the company has no more
avenues to pursue save
for seeking Chapter 11
protection.
“Over the last several
months, we had been taking
signifi cant steps to attempt
to strengthen our fi nancial
position and fi nd an inde-
pendent path forward,”
according to the statement.
“However, the increasingly
challenging market envi-
ronment was exacerbated
by the COVID-19 pan-
demic, which required us
to temporarily close all of
our stores and furlough the
vast majority of our asso-
ciates. Given these condi-
tions, we have been unable
to obtain necessary fi nanc-
ing and have no choice but
to take these actions.”
The company also fi led
a slew of motions seeking
court orders to continue to
operate, including the abil-
ity to pay employee wages,
salaries and health benefi ts.
Stage Stores in its press
release also reported it
“expects to honor existing
customer programs, includ-
ing gift cards and returns,
for the fi rst 30 days after a
store reopens.”
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