Jan. 13—Sears Hometown Stores Inc. filed for bankruptcy Dec. 20, 2022, with the U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Wilmington, Delaware. That decision resulted the fire sales from all 115 Sears Hometown locations nationwide. The Sears Hometown in Chapman is facing the same fate.

"I feel bad for the other owners that are younger and just getting started, I mean, they quit jobs to start their own business, and now Sears is closing. I feel bad for them," said Deniece Carlson, owner of the Chapman Sears.

Carlson said she is ready for retirement, "so it really doesn't affect me." However, she is sympathetic to the younger owners of Sears Hometown locations.

The store moved behind Londeen's from Junction City in March 2022. In hopes of keeping the store alive, Carlson decided to combine with Londeen's in Chapman.

Only the Sears part of the building is closing down, not Londeen's. Carlson said after Sears is gone, the owners of Londeen's plan to put appliances and furniture in that part of the store.

"They will have their own line of appliances, I don't know what yet, but they are working on it," Carlson said.

Now offering fire sale prices like the rest of Sears Hometown stores across the nation, the Chapman Sears is offering prices at 40% off.

"Well, it is a sad situation because Sears has filed for bankruptcy and they're are closing nationwide. We are doing clearance prices now and will do an extra 20% off on Saturday (Jan. 14); it's all liquidation prices," Carlson said.

"We've got a lot of push mowers getting ready for spring, a lot of lawn tractors, stoves, a few dryers, and a few washing machines, but mostly lawn and garden care. They say we're here until the inventory is gone, so we are selling everything,"

Unfortunately, gift cards are a different story, as stores are no longer selling them as of Dec. 12, 2022, according to the Sears Hometown main corporate website at SearsHometownStores.com.

"If you are currently holding a valid gift card, we will honor or offer refunds for those gift cards at our store locations until the stores are closed. We, therefore, encourage you to promptly use your gift cards," read part of the business' store closure statement on.

Sears Hometown is a franchise-owned unit of Sears. The franchise had 115 store locations across 36 states and Puerto Rico. Many stores across the nation are set to close, according to multiple reports.

"Over the next few months, we will be closing our Sears Hometown store locations," reads the statement on their website.

According to the court filings in December, Sears Hometown CEO Will Powell said, "Bankruptcy became unavoidable due to Transformco's failure to provide key products and services."

Deniece Carlson said she appreciates the community for supporting her over the years.

"I've been in business for 17 years, and I wouldn't have stayed open that long if it wasn't for the community," she said.