Ernst Closes Its Store In Valley Firm Files For Chapter 11; Other City Stores To Stay Open

Frank Anthony strolled toward the Spokane Valley Ernst Home Center on Monday when the bright red signs plastered across the storefront stopped him.

“Store Closed,” the signs announced, referring customers to the next-closest Ernst, on the South Hill in Lincoln Heights.

“I won’t go to 29th,” said Anthony, who lives across the street and went to Ernst in search of some wood finish.

The Ernst at Sprague and Pines is one of 25 stores in nine states the Seattle-based chain is closing as it struggles to cut losses.

On Friday, the Valley Ernst shut its doors for the last time. None of the company’s other stores in Eastern Washington or North Idaho will close, said spokesman Jim Fox.

Ernst operates three other stores in the Spokane area, in Lincoln Heights, Shadle Center and Northpointe Plaza, and two stores in North Idaho, near Silver Lake Mall in Coeur d’Alene and in Moscow.

Customers have noticed the paucity of merchandise on Ernst’s shelves for weeks, wondering what was happening to the 103-year-old home improvement store.

Questions were answered Friday when Ernst filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy reorganization.

“Our focus right now is on the operation of the remaining 61 stores, to become a leaner, more aggressive company,” Fox said.

Merchandise from the Valley store will be distributed to other area stores, and the company will try to transfer the 30 full- and part-time employees.

Special orders placed at the Valley store will be honored, Fox said.

With Ernst in bankruptcy, some suppliers who had stopped distributing merchandise to the chain have started again.

“We feel comfortable that they’re going to pay so we’re going to support them and get the stores back in stock,” said Mike Jensen, president of Spokane-based Jensen Distribution Services Inc.

Jensen is Ernst’s main supplier in Washington and its largest creditor.

Trucks started shipping merchandise Monday, Jensen said.

It will probably take two to three weeks to fully stock the stores, he added.

Fox would not explain why the Valley store was picked for closure, other than it wasn’t as profitable as the others.

Competition is fierce along Sprague Avenue for home improvement retailers.

Eagle Hardware and Garden, and Home Base Home Improvement Warehouse also are located along Sprague. And industry leader Home Depot is planning its first Spokane store on Sprague, at Fancher.

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