Businesses in the Treasure Valley That May Not Survive COVID-19

2020 has been a very rough year for business. With the coronavirus shutting down so much of our economy, these businesses may not survive.

Keep in mind that we are talking national chains here, not local businesses that have also been hit really hard. I've seen so many small business owners get really creative during this difficult time. These are the bigger companies that may not make it past COVID-19 according to an article on 24/7wallst.com.

1. JCPenney: They filed for bankruptcy in May and in June they announced they would close nearly 150 of their 846 stores. The JCPenney at the Boise Townesquare Mall and the JCPenney at the Nampa Gateway are NOT on the list, but the company has warned that additional closing are in the future. Two JCPenney locations in Northern Idaho will close though, one in Lewiston and the other at the Bonner Mall in Ponderay.

3. J. Crew: We have a J. Crew Factory store in the Boise Townsquare Mall and I haven't seen any news of it closing, but the company did file for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on March 16, 2020.

4. Hertz: I recently rented a car from Hertz and it made me think about how much car rental companies must be hurting during the pandemic, with non-essential traveling being banned at one point and even now, no one really goes anywhere they don't have to. The company has filed bankruptcy, but is still operating locally.

5. Advantage Rent-A-Car: They filed for bankruptcy on May 26th, just days after Hertz filed, so they are basically struggling like other rental car companies right now.

6. Sur La Table: Being a foodie, I LOVE this store at The Village. The biggest hit they have felt is not being able to hold their in-house cooking classes during the pandemic. Rumor has it that they are preparing to file bankruptcy, but there is nothing that says our location will close, so I'm holding out hope.

7. Tuesday Morning: They filed for bankruptcy on May 27th. They currently have five stores in Idaho, two in the Boise area. Their locations in Pocatello and Idaho Falls are set to close, but so far we seem to be okay here in the Treasure Valley.

If you can support businesses big or small right now, do it. We all need to be helping each other in any way we can right now.