Austin’s only department store will close as part of a liquidation of its parent company’s assets.

Younkers, along with other stores operating under the Bon Ton Stores, Inc., umbrella, made the announcement late Tuesday, following the sale of its assets as part of bankruptcy proceedings.

Stores will remain open during the liquidation process, according to a company announcement.

Bon Ton Stores CEO Bill Tracy said the company worked to find bidders who would continue to operate the stores, which also operate under the brands of Herbergers, Bergner’s, Carson’s, Boston Store and Elder-Beerman’s.

“While we are disappointed by this outcome and tried very hard to identify bidders interested in operating the business as a going concern, we are committed to working constructively with the winning bidder to ensure an orderly wind-down of operations that minimizes the impact of this development on our associates, customers, vendors and the communities we serve,” Tracy said in a statement on the company website.

“We are incredibly grateful to all of our associates for their dedicated service to Bon-Ton and to our millions of loyal customers who we have had the pleasure to serve as their hometown store for more than 160 years.”

Throughout the court-supervised asset sale process, the company’s stores, e-commerce and mobile platforms will remain open throughout the store closing sales. Bon-Ton expects to provide more details about the liquidation plans and going out of business sales at its stores following approval of the winning bid by the Bankruptcy Court.

Check back for more on this story in the next edition of the Austin Daily Herald