The owner of long-time local business, Joy’s Hallmark, has announced that it is going out of business and closing its remaining store, located at Kirkwood Mall, by the end of the month due to the slowing economic conditions. It is one of two Hallmark stores currently located at the shopping center.
This announcement comes just months after the company shuttered its Gateway Mall location, blaming the shopping center’s steady decline for its closure while vowing to keep its Kirkwood Mall store open.
Last July, shortly after its Gateway Mall closure, the owner of Joy’s Hallmark had filed a lawsuit again Gateway Mall’s owner, Raymond Arjmand, accusing him of fraud and racketeering. This lawsuit came around the same time two similar lawsuits were filed against Arjmand in California. The lawsuits are all still pending. It is possible that the company’s pending legal issues with Arjmand may have helped to contribute to the store’s ultimate closure.
Joy’s Hallmark had been in business for over two decades.
