Things Remembered mall chain soon to be a memory as gift retailer closes all stores

All Things Remembered gift stores, including the three on Long Island, will close for good by Saturday, employees in several states said.

Also, the gift retailer's headquarters in Richmond Heights, Ohio, will close “on or about Jan. 13,” according to a layoff notice filed with the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services in December. Chainwide, stores were closing during the week, with the final ones to shut their doors on Saturday.

Things Remembered’s corporate office did not respond to Newsday’s requests for comment Thursday, so it is unclear how many stores the chain has. 

The chain had 176 stores after being bought out of bankruptcy in 2019.

The retailer's website had only a customer service email address and the following message Thursday: "To our wonderful loyal customers: Our company is embarking on an exciting new chapter. Stay tuned for more information about where you can find an even greater selection of personalized products in the coming days."

Founded in 1967, Things Remembered specializes in personalizing gifts with on-site engraving.

Itasca, Illinois-based gift and home décor distributor Enesco LLC bought Things Remembered out of bankruptcy for $17.5 million in 2019.  Enesco was acquired this month by Ad Populum LLC, according to Enesco’s website.

“So, all I was told was that they decided to just do away with the stores,” Scott Wilson, an assistant manager at Things Remembered in Roosevelt Field in Garden City, said Thursday.

Five permanent employees work in the Roosevelt Field store, he said.

The other two Things Remembered stores on Long Island are in Smith Haven Mall in Lake Grove and Green Acres Mall in Valley Stream. 

Managers at the Smith Haven store were not available Thursday night for comment. An employee at the Green Acres store referred media questions to Things Remembered’s corporate office.

A Things Remembered store at Walt Whitman Shops in Huntington Station closed in November,  Wilson said.

When Things Remembered Inc. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in 2019, it had 400 stores.

Enesco took fewer than half in its purchase.

By Tory N. Parrish

tory.parrish@newsday.comToryParrish1

Tory N. Parrish covers retail and small business for Newsday. She has worked at the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review and Observer-Dispatch in Utica, N.Y.