No changes expected at local Dawahares

By Carrie Moore Staff Writer

A century-old clothing chain with origins in Eastern Kentucky will soon close several of its store locations. But stores in Coal Run Village and the South Williamson Mall are not expected to face any changes.

The Lexington-based Dawahares department store filed for bankruptcy reorganization on Friday. The company will close nine of its 31 apparel stores over the next two months and will also downsize its corporate operations in Lexington.

“As a family-owned business with deep, deep roots within many communities, we are all saddened by having to take this step,” said Dawahares president Harding Dawahare, in a news release.

Dawahare told the Lexington-Herald Leader that the company is not reducing staff at the stores that are staying open. He said the company will have about 400 employees after the closings.

The store closings are a result of increased national retail competition combined with the rising cost of fuel making it harder for people to spend money on non-essential items.

The company, which opened its first store in Jenkins, will close nine stores, none of which are located in Eastern Kentucky. They include: Owensboro, Bowling Green, Paducah, Glasgow, Maysville, Mt. Sterling, Campbellsville, Newport, and Bluefield, W.Va. locations.

Dawahare’s Pikeville and South Williamson locations will remain open, as will stores in Paintsville, Hazard, Corbin, Bardstown, Elizabethtown, Morehead, Whitesburg, Richmond, Danville, Madisonville, Somerset, Middlesboro, Murray, Lexington and Louisville,

Dawahare’s was founded 101 years ago by Harding Dawahare’s grandfather, Serur Frank Dawahare, who was a Syrian immigrant.