Steve & Barry's closing stores in Kokomo and Marion

Steve & Barry's stay in Kokomo apparently will be a short one.

In an e-mail to the Kokomo Tribune late Wednesday afternoon, senior manager of public relations Rachel Brenner announced that Steve & Barry's locations in Kokomo and Marion will be closing in the near future.

"We would encourage your readers to visit any of our closing stores to take advantage of the 'Store Closing Sale' that's now under way for a limited time," Brenner said in the e-mail. "We do not currently have a final sales date for these stores."

Store employees, however, said it would close Sept. 13.

In announcing it would open a store in the former Cub Foods at Kokomo Shopping Center on East Markland Avenue, Brenner said in March: "We're one of the few retailers opening new stores and continuing to grow."

After opening the 64,220-square-foot store in June, Steve & Barry's filed for bankruptcy July 30.

BHY S&B Holdings LLC, an affiliate of investment firms Bay Harbour Management and York Capital Management, received U.S. Bankruptcy Court approval Aug. 21 to take over nearly all of Steve & Barry's assets. The acquisition was completed Aug. 25.

The new owners plan to run just 170 of the 276 stores Steve & Barry's had when it filed for bankruptcy.

Three stores - two in Indianapolis and one in Bloomington - will remain open. Plans regarding Steve & Barry's locations in Fort Wayne and South Bend were not addressed.