ANDERSONVILLE — Clothing retailer Akira has closed its Clark Street location in Andersonville after 10 years, the latest in a series of businesses to close in the neighborhood.
The chain announced its last day of business at 5228 N. Clark St. was Sunday. A note in the store’s window thanked customers and asked them to patronize other Akira stores in the area.
The business held major sales in the final weeks of business before announcing the closing. A spokesperson for Akira did not respond to requests for comment.
Akira debuted with a Wicker Park storefront in 2002. It has since expanded to 32 stores, according to its website. The sign in its Andersonville door asked customers to visit its stores in Bucktown and at Skokie’s Old Orchard mall.
Akira opened its Andersonville location in 2011 and has been a fixture on the main stretch of Clark Street’s commercial corridor ever since. But a number of highly visible Andersonville businesses have closed since the beginning of the coronavirus pandemic.
Other businesses to shutter in Andersonville in the past year include: Candyality, Crossroads, art supplies shop Martha Mae, upscale restaurant Passerotto, Hamburgery Mary’s, Mary’s Attic and Hair Cuttery.
Since the closings, a number of new businesses have opened in shuttered storefronts, including: Sweetgreen taking the Hamburger Mary’s spot, Evoke Tattoos in the Mary’s Attic space, Land & Lake Andersonville in the former Passerotto’s, G&L Home Decor in the former Candyality storefront and The Cuttery in the former Hair Cuttery space.
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