Chain retailer along south Iowa Street announces pending closure; downtown restaurant shuts down, burger shop to take its place

Lawrence is in that unique time period known as KU Winter Break, where the entire university is seemingly run by the French labor department. (Wait, I can ignore work-related emails? Has that pesky prohibition about fondue at my desk also been lifted?) Given this abundance of leisure, it seems now would be the time that a store known for selling oversized chairs and massive pillows would be thriving. But no, I have news that Lawrence’s Pier 1 Imports store is closing.

The closing signs have gone up at the Pier 1 location at 3211 Iowa St. The closing will mark the end of a fairly longtime retailer in Lawrence. I know the chain dates to at least the mid-1990s, when it operated a store in downtown Lawrence. (I know because that is when I first came to town, and like all college students, I had a fascination with wicker.)

The closing, though, is not entirely unexpected. The Fort Worth-based chain had announced in late 2015 that it planned to close over the next three years about 10 percent of its stores because of declining sales. Many of the stores would close as their leases expired, the company stated.

No word on what may replace the store. The Lawrence location is in a high-visibility location along Iowa Street, in front of the SuperTarget. So, while our ability to buy papasans, swingasans and even spinasans on a whim is waning, it seems like the building may be a likely candidate to bring a new retailer to the south Iowa Street scene. I’ll keep my ears open on that front.

As for the closing, a store employee told me there hasn’t been an exact date set to end operations in Lawrence, but the store tentatively is scheduled to be open into February. The company will continue to operate its nearby stores in Topeka, Shawnee and Olathe.

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In other news and notes from around town:

• I’ve got news of another closing too. Jerusalem Cafe has closed its Lawrence location at 1008 Massachusetts St.

The Middle Eastern restaurant lasted less than a year in Lawrence. That is despite the fact that Jerusalem Cafe is a popular eatery in Kansas City. My understanding is that while the Lawrence and Kansas City restaurants were affiliated in some way, they weren’t run by the same ownership group. So, likely no need to worry about the KC location. When you are driving to Kansas City to buy your papasan you can pick up a gyro too. (You obviously can still buy gyros in Lawrence too as evidenced by the tzatziki sauce in the Grizzly Adams-like beards that many KU faculty members have grown during the winter break period.)

It seems that we also will get the chance to buy something called a smoke burger. A sign in the window of the former Jerusalem Cafe location says KC Smoke Burgers will be going into the vacant space.

If that sounds familiar, it is because KC Smoke Burgers was the tenant at the location before Jerusalem Cafe opened in the Mass. Street spot. Its lifespan in Lawrence was fairly short, but I guess the owners believe in the idea of the second time is a charm. Or perhaps we are just on a “Groundhog Day”-loop to relive 2015 and 2016 again.

Regardless, as we previously reported, KC Smoke Burgers is a popular restaurant near the KU Medical Center in Kansas City. It serves about 20 hamburger varieties, including traditional variations plus more exotic dishes such as lamb burgers, gyro smoke burgers and one dish that includes jalapeños, habaneros and hot sauce.

No word on when the burger restaurant will open, but keep your eyes open for activity at the site.

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• There is no reason to press the panic alarm about the future of one of Lawrence’s Dairy Queens. The DQ on south Massachusetts Street is closed, but only temporarily, the owner tells me.

The store at 1835 Massachusetts St. is going through some remodeling and should reopen sometime next week, store owner Steve Walter said. Most of the remodeling work is being done in the kitchen and other staff areas of the restaurant. The DQ had a major remodeling a couple of years ago, but most of that work did not reach into the kitchen and food-preparation areas.

Walter owns all three DQs in Douglas County — two in Lawrence and one in Eudora — and he said the work on the Massachusetts Street store is the latest in a multiyear effort to bring all the facilities up to top DQ standards.