Great American Quilt Factory CLOSING?!

I got a very sad email today.  The email was sent yesterday, but I didn't open it until this morning.

Great American Quilt Factory is closing in only a few weeks!

I'm stunned.  The store has been one of my favorites for years.  It was the store I shopped more often than others from the very beginning.  Their I Spy quilt was the reason I wanted to learn how to quilt.

I have had some suspicion that something was up for about six months.  I have noticed that the amount of fabric on their shelves has decreased and selection hasn't been as good.  The First Saturday Sampler was only a couple months long instead of its normal length.

I know the amount of purchasing I do has decreased significantly.  The reason given is retirement, but I'm sure business has declined....  I know there have been quite a few closures over the past year of so of shops.

I guess I'm just most surprised by the abruptness.  An email on the 4th to say that the store will be closed from the 5th-9th and then will reopen on the 10th to sell everything off.  I was just in there on Wednesday and had no clue....