2 stores close at Westmoreland Mall; prom and formal wear store opens

Westmoreland Mall officials confirmed that Littman Jewelers shuttered this month, and a women’s clothing store is set to close.

Littman, a national jewelry chain, was located on the first floor across from the former Sears wing and the wing that now houses Live! Casino Pittsburgh. Christopher & Banks, on the first floor near JCPenney, also is set to close, according to signage posted at the store.

Littman has operated along the East Coast since 1885. In 1990, it became part of Fred Meyer Jewelers, which operates under Kroger Co. The store at the Hempfield mall is not the first location in the state to close.

According to The Morning Call, a Littman store closed this month at Lehigh Valley Mall in Lehigh County.

A spokeswoman for Fred Meyer Jewelers did not return a call for comment.

Christopher & Banks, founded in 1956, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection this month and began closing more than 400 stores nationally, including the Westmoreland Mall location. A store also is shuttering at Pittsburgh Mills mall in Frazer.

Those closures were seemingly offset by the opening of Millers’ Prom and Formal Wear, which opened in mid-January on the second level of the former Sears wing, according to Stacey Keating, spokeswoman for CBL Properties, a Chattanooga, Tenn.-based company that owns both Westmoreland and Monroeville malls.

According to the Millers’ website, the store relocated from its previous location on Main Street in Greensburg.

Store closings at the mall have not been uncommon in recent years. They include Helzberg Diamonds, Charlotte Russe, Gymboree, Payless ShoeSource, Verizon Wireless, Sleep Number, New York & Company, PacSun, Kitchen Collection, Motherhood Maternity and Cash-In Culture at Westmoreland Crossing plaza.

Other businesses such as Valhalla Indoor Axe Throwing and Kingsman Billiards are set to open at the mall.