STEVE INSKEEP, HOST:
All right. It's time to sweep up the confetti, turn off the lights because Party City, the retail chain that dressed much of America in scary masks and dramatic capes, is closing as soon as this week. NPR's Alina Selyukh blows the noisemaker one more time.
ALINA SELYUKH, BYLINE: It started when baby boomers decided that Halloween was not just for kids but adults, too. They raised new generations who love to dress up as movie characters and wrap their homes in ghostly spiderwebs. Party City had the goods and made the money.
STEVE MANDELL: Halloween was always huge.
SELYUKH: Steve Mandell opened the first Party City in New Jersey in 1986 - at first just napkins and cups and other supplies for get-togethers, but costumes became the cash cow.
MANDELL: One of the things that really made us in the Halloween business - we had a picture wall - about 50 running feet - of every single costume that we carried.
SELYUKH: It's like browsing online but with stuff you can try on instantly. Add to that a huge balloon business, plus the big market for last-minute party needs, and Party City left rivals in the dust. It decked out birthdays, family reunions and so many school events. Courtney Osborne is a middle school teacher in Maryland.
COURTNEY OSBORNE: I currently have a 35-foot balloon arch (laughter) that we use for our yearly runs.
SELYUKH: Osborne came to see liquidation sales after Party City tried two bankruptcy proceedings to get its finances in order. Since 2012, the chain has been haunted by debt from a private equity buyout - at one point, nearly $2 billion. This left the company little room to improve its hundreds of stores or its presence online. Then came a helium shortage for its balloons, a pandemic shutdown and inflation.
OSBORNE: I'm sad that we're losing a neighborhood store and sending us more onto, you know, any of the dot-coms.
SELYUKH: Osborne brought along her young daughter. She says of course you can buy stuff online, sight unseen. But that requires planning ahead, already knowing exactly what you need. And in store...
OSBORNE: There is a fun and nostalgia that you have walking through the aisles with your kids.
SELYUKH: The Party City chain is expected to close within days, though several franchisees say they plan to stick around and keep a few locations open. Some Party City shoppers say they'll now probably buy their balloons at the grocery store and party supplies maybe at dollar stores. Ironically, most of the shuttering Party City locations are being bought by Dollar Tree and Five Below.
Alina Selyukh, NPR News.
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