Crossroads Appliance closes

Crossroads Appliance, a Bellevue fixture since the 1970s, closed down this week just months after expanding by buying six Maytag stores in the area.

August 19, 2010 5:14 pm
Workers could be seen through the front door of Crossroads Appliance removing units from the store on N.E. 8th Street at Crossroads Sation in Bellevue on Thursday afternoon. A customer outside the store was told by the workers that they were repossessing appliances for a manufacturer after the abrupt business closure.
Workers could be seen through the front door of Crossroads Appliance removing units from the store on N.E. 8th Street at Crossroads Sation in Bellevue on Thursday afternoon. A customer outside the store was told by the workers that they were repossessing appliances for a manufacturer after the abrupt business closure.

Crossroads Appliance, a Bellevue fixture since the 1970s, closed down this week just months after expanding by buying six Maytag stores in the area.

The chain’s flagship store at in Crossroads was dark mid-week.

Owner Don Heitlauf, who reportedly was forced out last week, was out of town and unavailable for comment. According to KOMO News, Adam Collier responded and said the company is reorganizing to reduce overhead.

“During these difficult economic times we have tried to merge two companies, Crossroads Appliance and The Maytag Stores, in order to survive this economy and continue our business,” KOMO reported Collier as saying. “We have not been able to gain the cooperation of our product vendors to do this successfully and are now reorganizing into a smaller organization to reduce our overhead and meet our obligations”

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Collier told KOMO that the closure was temporary while the company worked with its partners.

In a story in the Bellevue Reporter in May, Heitlauf said he intended to expand the appliance lineup available in the Maytag stores, which were limited to the brands owned by the Whirlpool corporation, Maytag’s parent company. Heitlauf added that Crossroads Appliance offered many more brands and in a wide variety of price ranges.

Heitlauf’s plans were to have the main Bellevue store in Crossroads remain the same, but to convert the Bellevue Maytag store on Northup Way into a clearance center for the Crossroads Appliance chain. The Kent store acquired from Maytag, also would add clearance items to its regular merchandise.

In add, Heitlauf acquired Maytag stores in Lynnwood, Bellevue, Southcenter, Kent, Federal Way and Puyallup.