MONTEREY – Beverly’s, a fabric, crafts and decor store that has been a staple on the Monterey Peninsula for over two decades, is closing its doors.

“It was announced last Saturday,” said Marisela Madrigal, Beverly’s operations manager in Monterey. “It wasn’t really a surprise.”

The family-owned business is currently having a “going out of business” sale at its Monterey store at 2090 North Fremont Ave. The store’s lease is up in June, but depending on how fast the merchandise moves, it could button-up sooner.

“In its heyday, we had about 35 to 40 stores,” said Bridgete Young, vice president of leadership development for Beverly’s. “It started with a lot of little fabric stores and expanded to crafts and home décor.”

Beverly’s began in 1968 and established itself as an industry leader in crafts, fabrics, scrapbooking, home décor, art supplies and more. It operated the company owner’s namesake stores up and down California, becoming the second largest privately-owned crafts chain in the United States.

The first fabric store opened in Livermore and soon the company expanded to include crafts and décor, growing in several locations while adapting to customer needs.

“We knitters, crocheters, and seamstresses will miss this place,” said Carla Chenelle of Seaside as she left the store Thursday with knitting supplies. “The people here have always been nice and helpful especially in the fabric department. I hope they’ll all get good jobs.”

Young said the decision to close the Monterey store was based on business and the fact the lease will be up in June. It has been a step-by-step process as the family who owns the business is retiring and though the children and grandchildren have participated in the company’s existence over the years, other interests and ambitions have replaced the thought of continuing to keep the business going.

Beverly’s Monterey Peninsula presence started 22 years ago with a store in Seaside and after about three years it moved to the bigger site at the corner of North Fremont Avenue and Casa Verde Way near the Monterey Fairgrounds.

In the interim, its store in Oldtown Salinas closed at the end of 2017 after a multi-year run, as have its other stores throughout the state.

“Right now we’re in the process of closing the Beverly’s Bakersfield location within the next 30 days,” said Young. “Then we will close this store.”

That leaves the last two Beverly’s locations in Soquel and San Luis Obispo to remain open for the time being.

The business has been affected by changes in retail shopping attitudes, access to online merchandise, a move away from making it yourself, and handcrafting such as sewing, knitting, and crocheting, explained Young.

“There’s pride, sadness … they’ve been a part of the community where they live, part of the area. This is what they have, it’s their baby,” said Young.

Madrigal said that both customers and employees are sad to see the store close. The operations manager said she has been with the company for about 13 years and was promoted to her current position. She said another employee has been there for about 16 years, the longest of any of the 15 employees who will be affected by the closure.

The property is already listed for lease by Mahoney and Associates. The two-story, 22,475-square-foot building was built in 1966 and had been a former Coca-Cola bottling facility. It is described as being squarely in the hub of commerce and entertainment, in an area in the process of revitalization, with water credits that allow for uses such as restaurant, brewpub, theater or the like.