Steve and Barry's set to close its doors

Steve and Barry's University Sportswear will be closing the doors of its Penn location after 17 years in business on campus, marking its impending departure with a liquidation sale that started yesterday.

Store employees declined to comment on why the store is closing, deferring any official statements to the store's manager, who could not be reached for comment last night. Employees could also not give the exact date when the store will officially go out of business.

Vice President for Facilities Services Omar Blaik said that while he did not know the exact reason behind the retailer's departure, the news did not come as a surprise.

"We had some expectations that [it] would soon be closing," Blaik said. "[It] had had a month-to-month lease, not a long-term one, so whether [it] chose to end this lease or simply didn't renew it, I'm not sure right now."

The University did not have any specific involvement in the closing.

Steve and Barry's was part of a larger retail chain bearing the same name and headquartered in Great Neck, N.Y. Officials from the main office were also unable to be reached for comment last night.

On campus, Steve and Barry's was known for the widest selection of University logo apparel and was also popular for its dramatically low prices and frequent sales.

Many students expressed surprise on hearing the news.

"That's horrible," Engineering freshman Kayla Lessin said. "It's really too bad -- they have such nice, cheap stuff and it's always warm and comfortable."

Engineering senior Michael Portnoy said he was "surprised and disappointed" by the closure.

"I purchase things there several times a year," he said. "They have good quality merchandise at extremely reasonable prices."

Donning a sweatshirt she had bought from Steve and Barry's, College junior Ashley Braden said, "It's not so great" that the store is closing.

She added, "The bookstore prices are so high, it's incredible. The stuff you can get at Steve and Barry's is cheap. Now there's not going to be any place to get anything like that."

"Also, they have a lot of variety," College junior Shira Robinson added. "You can get anything you could ever possibly want there. It's a shame."

At this point, the University has no plans for how it will fill the soon-to-be vacant retail space near 38th and Spruce streets.

"We have no specific plan right now," Blaik said. "We had talked about some replacements. There was a discussion of a bank opening a branch there, but we're not sure about that at this time."

This new departure leaves the University with several vacant retail spots -- the space formerly occupied by Unimart at 40th and Locust streets, and a spot at 3737 Walnut Street once occupied by Eckerd drugstore have remained vacant for over a year.

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