Covering Annandale, Bailey's Crossroads, Lincolnia, and Seven Corners in Fairfax County, Virginia

A.C. Moore stores are closing

A.C. Moore in the Crossroads Center shopping center.

The A.C. Moore Arts & Crafts store at Crossroads Center in Bailey’s Crossroads is closing for good, probably within the first couple of months of 2020.

The A.C. Moore company announced Nov. 25 that is closing all 145 of its stores.

As part of a restructuring plan approved by Nicole Crafts, A.C. Moore’s parent company, 40 former A.C. Moore stores will be converted to Michaels, a larger retailer – and former competitor – also specializing in crafts, framing, and home décor. Those stores haven’t been identified.

An employee at the A.C. Moore in Bailey’s Crossroads doesn’t think that store will reopen as Michaels, as there already is a Michaels close by, in the Seven Corners Center.

There’s also an A.C. Moore store in Fair City Mall in Fairfax and Michaels stores in Fairfax, Springfield, and Vienna, and there are three in Alexandria.

The employee at the A.C. Moore at Crossroads Center says business has declined since the Safeway closed in June. Nationally, the company faces the same stiff competition from Amazon that has devastated brick-and-mortar retail businesses across the nation.

“For over 30 years, our stores have been serving the creative community with a vast selection of art and craft materials with a common focus, the customer,” CEO Anthony Piperno states in a press release.“Unfortunately, given the headwinds facing many retailers in today’s environment, it made it very difficult for us to operate and compete on a national level,” Piperno said.

14 responses to “A.C. Moore stores are closing

  1. Another good store leaves the dump! That shopping center is going to turn into a ghost town. And thanks to the incredible leadership we have in Mason, it will probably be backfilled with a soviet style park, homeless shelter or some other junk food store parading itself as an international market.

    1. While I'll agree that Mason is a dump, the entire chain is closing.

      I also disagree with what will replace it. I am guessing some combination of Laundromat/Dollar Store/Titlemax or pawn shop.

  2. I am very sorry to hear that A.C. Moore stores are closing. They provided an alternative source of artist supplies, sometimes better than what is available at Michaels. So many independent local artist supply stores have closed over the years I've been active in the field. It isn't the same to buy over the internet.

  3. This just validates that the Mason leadership and these shopping center landlords are not poised for the future. Big box stores will continue to diminish in Mason while boutique type retail and mixed use will thrive in Arlington' s Clarendon, Alexandria's Old Town, Providence's Mosaic District, Fairfax City, Old Town Vienna and DC.

    1. Did you miss the part where the entire chain is closing? Don’t think mason is driving the bus on a national level

    2. I responded but the wonderful blog keeps blocking my responses. To your point Adam, this is a national issue with big box stores closing. But they are parituclarly a problem in Mason. With the confluence of section 8 housing, concentrations of immigrants, some illegal, a plethora of vacant big box stores, greedy and less savvy landlords, who will not redevelop their shopping centers into what market forces are demanding and the comprehensive plan prescribes, a visionless and ineffective supervisor Mason is doomed. This is not the path be taken by the other districts such as the one mentioned by Anon 12:07. Here is one for the liberal blog editor, Gross needs to be impeached.

  4. I frequent this store quite often, was just there last week! Very sad to see them go, especially knowing nothing is coming behind it except ANOTHER EMPTY STOREFRONT in Mason. So frustrating.

  5. There are 15-20 big box stores in Bailey's Crossroads and Seven Corners that are likely to fall victim to the retail apocalypse in the next decade or two. I guess this isn't a unique problem to our district, but someone, somewhere here, should be trying to head this off.

    1. Yea, more big box junk stores like Food Star, Halloween Store and probably a DMV and more homeless shelters if you leave it up to the County. FFX and the Mason District Supervisor are clueless when it comes to revitalizing the older areas and out modded properties. The County does not have any good incentives to lure Mixed Use Development, particularly upscale developers and rapid mass transit. The days of Woodies and Lord and Taylors are over for 7 Corners. Who knew it would turn into a third rate wreck of a shopping center 30 years ago.

      It's time to leave Mason and leave it for the destitute. With Penny in office for another 4 years, this area is only going to go one way, and that is downhill.

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