A Jacksonville landlord is offering brides left high and dry by the sudden bankruptcy of the Florida-based dress chain Alfred Angelo another chance to buy a wedding gown, this time at a discount.
The chain turned out the lights and locked the doors of its 60 U.S. stores last month — leaving behind thousands of dresses and a trail of panicked brides.
Ted Johnson owns the building in Arlington where the former store did business. And, as the landlord, he now owns the abandoned merchandise inside.
He said the idea for a 10-day clearance sale came from Alfred Angelo’s former employees.
“They indicated there were a lot of people that got, sort of, hung out there,” he said, “so consequently we decided to hold the liquidation sale.”
Johnson said the money from the sale will help make up what he lost when the company skipped town.
“They left owing several months of rent and, of course, they broke their lease, so there’s a big hole to fill," he said.
Prices on wedding gowns have been cut by as much as half, while bridesmaid and prom dresses are selling for around $75. The cash-only Alfred Angelo clearance sale runs through Labor Day.
The store is at 9344 Atlantic Blvd across from Regency Square Mall.
Contact Cyd Hoskinson at choskinson@wjct.org, 904-358-6351 and on Twitter at @cydwjctnews.
