First-hand horror store Epic Second Hand Stores, the largest store of its kind in the United States, has closed its doors for good.
Its owners and staff announced the closure in a statement on Friday.
“We have been very proud to operate the store for the past 25 years,” the statement reads.
“But, with this decision, we are closing the store and will not be able to continue our operations in Champaign.”
The store’s closure comes just two years after the store reopened and expanded to a second location in the neighborhood.
The chain, which started in 1998 and has stores in Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York, was founded by longtime friends Matt and Amanda Hensley.
They sold their first store, in Urbandale, Illinois, in 2004, according to the Des Moines Register.
After the first store opened, the Hensleys began to sell out of their original inventory, according the Des-Amos Register.
In 2013, they expanded their store to include several locations in Champagne, Ohio, and now the Hentsleys own over 50 stores.
The Henskins have since sold their stores in Ohio and Illinois.
According to the Hentley’s Facebook page, the store closed in Urbandsville, Illinois because the owners could not continue to manage the store on a daily basis, “due to our inability to maintain our own staff to keep pace with demand.”
The closure comes after a few years of closures and expansions in Champagnes market.
The store opened its doors in Urbsville in January 2019, but closed its Urbandales store in February 2018.
The second-oldest second-heaven second-story haunted house on the U.S. map is located at the corner of Broadway and Second St. in Urber-Auburn, Illinois.
Its original location at 1235 Broadway was recently renovated.
In March 2017, the second-floor location of the same haunt house was demolished to make way for a two-story new home for the new Urbansville branch.