Local, national businesses temporarily close due to coronavirus outbreak

HOUSTON – Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo and Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Monday that all bars, clubs to close for 15 days due to the coronavirus. Officials also said local restaurants are ordered to suspend dine-in and only provide delivery or drive-thru options for diners.

Here are the following businesses that are closing its stores:

Mall closures

The Galleria Mall, Katy Mills and Houston Premium Outlets are temporarily closing its doors until March 29 to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, according to Simon Property Group.

Abercrombie & Fitch

The clothing brand has decided to close all of its stores outside of the Asia-Pacific region. People can still shop online, and the company will be extending their return policy to cover the duration of the closure.

Alamo Drafthouse

All Alamo Drafthouse Cinema corporate-owned locations are now closed until further notice. The company said all shows have been canceled, and all tickets will be refunded. If your ticket was purchased in person (at the box office), please contact avp@drafthouse.com and an Alamo Drafthouse representative is expected to follow up as soon as possible.

AMC Theaters

All AMC theatres are temporarily closed in accordance with local and federal guidelines. They will re-open when those guidelines allow.

Anthropologie

The company decided to close all stores until at least March 28.

“We will continue to pay our store teams during this time. Because the situation is complex and evolving rapidly, our plans may change. If they do, we’ll let you know. While we’ll miss seeing you in our stores, our website and app are always open.”

Apple

All Apple retail stores are closed until further notice. For purchases with fast and free delivery, shop on apple.com or the Apple Store app.

Aritzia

All boutiques will be closed until further notice, according to the website. People can still purchase items online and anyone who signs in will get free shipping until March 31. The company will also be offering free returns on all online orders within 30 days.

Away

The company has decided to temporarily close its retail locations, as well as its location where monogramming services are performed for at least two weeks starting Monday.

Bath & Body Works

Bath & Body Works announced all stores in the United States and Canada will be temporarily closing as a response to the COVID-19 outbreak. Customers received emails Monday.

“While our associates are home with their loved ones at this critical time, we’ll support them with pay, as well as look for other ways we might ease their concerns and share our appreciation for all they’ve done,” a statement from the company said.

Customers will still be able to shop online.

Columbia

The company is closing its North America brick and mortar retail stores on Monday March 16 and expects them to remain closed through Friday, March 27. People can still shop online at Columbia.com.

Chipotle

The company made the decision to temporarily offer a “to-go only” option in all 2,600 locations across the country to help combat the spread of COVID-19. People can order online or in-store.

Denny’s

Denny’s restaurants will be open daily from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. for carryout and delivery only. All delivery fees will be waived through April 12.

Fossil

Fossil will be closing all Fossil and Fossil Outlet stores in North America through March 28. While the stores are closed, displaced employees will be compensated for their hours through March 28. Online stores will remain open and available at fossil.com.

Houston Health Department

The Houston Health Department is closing its birth and death records office to the public until further notice, starting March 17. The decision to close was made to help contain and mitigate the spread of the coronavirus. The online birth and death record ordering services will be available on HoustonHealth.org and will waive the standard shipping fee.

James Avery

The company is temporarily closing James Avery retail stores through March 27. Associates will be paid as they were scheduled. James Avery is also expanding its leave and sick pay programs to provide assistance to those who become ill or need to care for loved ones, including children who are home due to school closings.

J.Crew

All J.Crew and J.Crew Factory retail stores will be closed until March 28, effective immediately. Store associates will be paid during this timeframe. People can continue to shop online at jcrew.com and jcrewfactory.com.

Katz Deli

The restaurant will be closed, but people can still order takeout and delivery.

Kendra Scott

Kendra Scott announced Monday that all retail stores will be temporarily closing due to rising health concerns.

The designer shared a post to Twitter saying the decision was not easy, but it was made “with the best interest of our employees, our communities and our country in mind.”

Scott also posted a video to Youtube detailing the reason behind the decision.

Her statement said in part:

“Today I am coming to talk to you not just as the founder and CEO of Kendra Scott, but as a mom and a daughter who is caring for her elderly father recovering from recent medical treatment. This hits home in a very real way. I built this company 18 years ago with family as our first pillar. I was a new mom and I wanted to create an environment where we could put family first. My Kendra Scott family and our employees, but also each of you – our Kendra Scott community (are) the most important thing. We care immensely for you and the communities that we serve, so today I had to make the hard decision to temporarily close our stores given the safety of our community is paramount.”

Scott said she is working to extend paid time-off policies to help employees who are affected by the closure.

The company will also be looking to help the community during the coronavirus crisis and will be announcing new “give back” efforts this week.

Scott said stores will be closed from Monday through March 26. People can continue to shop online.

Here is a link to find Kendra Scott stores.

LA Fitness

LA Fitness will close all of its clubs until on March 16 until at least April 1.

“All memberships will be extended to cover the time the clubs are closed,” the gym wrote in a message to patrons.

The gym said the health of members and employees was paramount.

Levi Strauss & Co.

The company will temporarily close its retail locations in the United States and Canada as of Monday, March 16. The company expects these stores to remain closed through March 27. Store employees will be paid for all scheduled hours during the closure. These temporary closures do not affect the company’s online operations.

Life Time clubs

All Life Time clubs across the nation will be closed no later than 8 p.m. Monday night in each time zone until further notice. The company said all accounts will be credited for the number of days its clubs will be closed.

Life Time released the following statement:

“Our entire organization is committed to your health and well-being. We will be sharing regular communication with you. Importantly, stay tuned for my next communication, which I hope to release soon. We are tirelessly working to see how we can help you and our communities in any way we can, including whether we can repurpose our facilities to become a resource or service centers for our members. We hope to communicate with you quickly on our plans.”

Lush

The company decided to temporarily close all 258 Lush retail stores across Canada and the U.S. from March 16 through 29.

″Because our products are all made fresh by hand weekly for our shops, these closures will also require us to significantly scale down our manufacturing and distribution operations for the duration of the shop closures. We are working through how we can best support our employee base through these changes, ensuring regular pay for all staff during this period."

People can still order products online, but there could be some delays due to the business’ reduced capacity.

Madewell

Madewell made the decision to temporarily close all of our stores for the next two weeks until Saturday, March 28. It will be paying employees during the closure. The company also suspended all community events until further notice. People can continue to shop at madewell.com.

MOD Pizza

Starting Tuesday MOD Pizza is eliminating in-store dining and transitioning to take-out, pick-up and delivery only from 11:30 a.m. through 8:30 p.m. People can still go into the store to order, or they can order by phone, our app or a third-party delivery partner. Anyone who orders online can pick up their food near the front door at the new “superfast” pick-up spot. You can also request a “no-contact” delivery if you use DoorDash. Customers who place an order by phone will only be able to pay using a credit card, and all phone orders must be pre-paid over the phone to limit time spent in the store.

Nike

Nike closes all retail locations from March 16 through Friday, March 27. Customers can continue to shop on Nike.com and on the Nike apps.

Nordstrom

A two-week closure will go into effect for Nordstrom stores in the United States and Canada Tuesday. The store will remain open online at Nordstrom.com, Nordstromrack.com, HauteLook.com and TrunkClub.com. Store associates will be provided with pay and benefits during the two-week period, the company said in a statement.

Outdoor Voices

All Outdoor Voices retail shops will be closed through March 27 and community events will be postponed until further notice. All scheduled shop teams will be compensated during this period, and the team at HQ will be working remotely.

Patagonia

The company has temporarily shut down all operations in North America, including orders on the website. It will update customers again on or before March 23.

PVH Corp.

PVH Corp. temporarily closed all company-operated retail stores across North America and Europe, effective March 17 through March 29. All retail associates at these locations will continue to receive full pay and benefits for their scheduled shifts during the temporary closure period.

Consumers can continue to shop from our digital commerce websites, Tommy.com, CalvinKlein.com, VanHeusen.com, Izod.com, styleBureau.com and SpeedoUSA.com, in applicable markets.

Regal Movie

Regal will close all of its theatre locations on March 17 until further notice.

REI

REI will temporarily close its 162 retail stores nationwide starting tomorrow, March 16, until March 27. All employees from its stores will be paid during this temporary closure. All orders through REI.com will get free shipping while stores are closed.

River Oaks Theatre

The River Oaks Theatre is temporarily closed until further notice.

The theatre released the following statement:

“This decision allows our staff to remain at home during this critical time. We will be in touch when we plan to reopen. We hope everyone stays safe during this time and we look forward to seeing you at the movies soon!”

Rooftop Cinema Club

Rooftop Cinema Club in Houston has decided to postpone its season launch until May 1.

Star Cinema

Star Cinema is temporarily closing theaters in accordance with local government direction and recommendations. Customers can reach out to guestservices@starcinemagrill.net for assistance.

SoulCycle

SoulCycle will be closing all studios. It will be freezing expiration dates on all class series, at a minimum through April 30.

Space Center

Space Center Houston announced that due to city, state and federal guidelines, it will remain closed to the general public until further notice.

According to a Space Center representative, the facility is working to enhance virtual learning experiences and will be announcing new experiences the public can be part of.

The Space Center released a statement that said in part, “Our goal is to continue to inspire all generations through the wonders of space exploration and to do our part to keep our community connected during this difficult time.”

For more updates, you can go to Spacecenter.org.

T-Mobile

T-Mobile will temporarily close about 80% of its company-owned retail stores until at least March 31. The stores that remain open, which are distributed across the country, will operate on reduced schedules and only stay open for eight hours each day from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. for most stores.

Urban Air Adventure Park

Urban Air in northwest Houston is temporarily closing starting March 16 at 6 p.m. until March 28.

The company released the following statement:

“We are a small family-owned business, and the decision to close our business was not an easy one as it greatly affects our employees, our family and our guest. For any guests with events booked during this period, we sincerely apologize and we will be reaching out immediately. In the meantime, we will be maintaining our park to the highest standards of safety and cleanliness. We look forward to welcoming you back to Urband Air soon.”

Urban Outfitters

The company has decided to close all of its stores around the globe. Stores will not reopen until at least March 28. It will continue to pay store teams during this time. It will continue to operate its e-commerce and subscription businesses.

VF Corporation

VF Corporation announced the temporary closure of all owned retail stores across North America, effective March 16 through April 5. All retail employees at these locations will continue to receive full pay and benefits during the temporary closure period.

In addition to its retail fleet, VF has closed its corporate and brand offices in North America until April 5 and is enabling all office employees to work remotely.

Victoria’s Secret/PINK

Effective Tuesday, March 17, all Victoria’s Secret and PINK stores in the U.S. and Canada will close and will not reopen until Monday, March 30. The company’s e-commerce businesses will remain open for all brands.

Vineyard Vines

Vineyard Vines stores will close Sunday, March 15 through Friday, March 27. The company will be paying store employees for any previously scheduled shifts. The Vineyardvines.com website will remain open.

Warby Parker

The company will temporarily close all stores through March 27. Retail team members will continue to be paid as if they were working in stores during this time. Online shopping will still be available.

Whataburger

Whataburger announced all dining rooms will close starting Tuesday at 3 p.m. People who want to get their fix can still order through the drive-thru, online or via the app. The chain will be offering curbside delivery for online orders from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. otherwise, people can pick their orders up at the drive-thru.

YogaWorks

YogaWorks will temporarily close its studios until the end of the month. The company will still be offering a new live streaming class option, which will live stream a selection of classes from across the country.