Iconic Department Store Closing 7 Locations in May 2025, Idaho Listed

Thousands of Idahoans have core memories tied to some of the most well known department stores in the country. Unfortunately, those memories are starting to fade as brands part ways with their locations in Idaho.

JCPenney was a MAJOR part of my childhood. My sister and I couldn’t wait until their Christmas catalog arrived so we could look through the entire thing. We’d flip through things like linens, jewelry and home goods just to get to the giant toy section. That’s when we’d pig-ear all the toys and games we hoped that Santa would bring us.

As we got older, it’s where our grandma would take us back-to-school shopping when Arizona was one of the coolest brands for pre-teens and teens. 

READ MORE: Macy's and Kohl's Both Announce Closures in Idaho

Unfortunately, the brand has had a rough ride since we were little. The iconic brand filed for bankruptcy in 2020. Idaho lost locations in Lewiston and Ponderay during the initial round of closures, with a third location in Coeur d’Alene closing later that year. 

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The brand survived bankruptcy by selling to companies that own a lot of malls, Simon Property Group and Brookfield Asset Management. The last one might sound familiar, because Brookfield owns Boise Towne Square Mall. 

In early 2025, the brand merged into a group called Catalyst Brands along with Forever 21, Eddie Bauer, Aeropostale and a few other brands. CNN called the new venture a “Zombie Mall Store King.” The arrangement doesn’t appear to be going well as Forever 21 announced the permanent closure of ALL of its US locations, including the one at Boise Towne Square Mall.

JCPenney says their impending closures don’t have anything to do with the merger, but did confirm that they’ll close seven stores this year and Idaho is on that list. 

JCPenney Closing at Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck

The other locations closing are in California, Colorado, Kansas, New Hampshire, North Carolina and West Virginia. East Idaho News reports that the Idaho location on the list is located at Pine Ridge Mall in Chubbuck and confirmed the store’s final day will be May 25. The store’s salon closed a few weeks ago. 

The brand will still have stores in:

• Boise
• Idaho Falls
• Nampa
• Twin Falls

While JCPenney didn’t provide a reason these stores were targeted for closure, we wonder if the decision to close the Pine Ridge Mall had something to do with the future of the mall itself. Its current owners are planning to demolish parts of it to turn it into an open-air retail center, similar to what another group tried to do by converting Karcher Mall into District 208. We’ve got more on that conversion here. 

There’s still a lot of vacancies at District 208 in Nampa and they recently lost another major retailer when the JOANN store there closed following the brand’s second bankruptcy filing.