RIVER NORTH — Belle Up, a maternity and women's clothing boutique, will close its store at 520 N. Michigan Ave. at the end of the month.
News of the Magnificent Mile store's closure was announced on social media late Friday. It will leave the Beverly-based retailer with one remaining store at 1915 W. 103rd St. — near Metra's 103rd Street station.
"The Beverly store isn't going anywhere. It continues to do extremely well and has provided a springboard for our expansion and growth opportunities," owner Jamenda McCoy said late Sunday.
She added that employees of the store at The Shops at North Bridge will all transition to become employees of the Beverly store.
Belle Up opened its 2,000-square-foot store on Michigan Avenue Aug. 15, 2015. It can be found on the third floor of the shopping mall fronted by Nordstrom and sought to provide high-end maternity items for working women Downtown.
The store that began in 2009 in Mount Greenwood started stocking non-maternity clothing in summer 2013. Such items were quickly embraced by customers on the Far Southwest Side and also brought to the Michigan Avenue store.
McCoy pointed to the changing retail landscape in announcing the closure and teased "growth strategies that look beyond brick-and-mortar expansions" in her message to customers. The details of the strategy were not revealed.
"I'm thrilled that the next chapter in our story will center around meeting our customers where they are and customizing the {bu} experience to help take them where they want to be. Stay tuned," McCoy's message to customers said.
Belle Up also closed its store in Hyde Park on March 26, 2016. The store at 1504 E. 53rd St. was believed to be competing with the Magnificent Mile location. That closure ended a partnership with the University of Chicago, which was working to reinvigorate the 53rd Street commercial corridor.
