Bethesda Row Ritz Camera Set To Close

The Bethesda Row shop is closing, and Bloomberg News reports the troubled specialty camera chain is liquidating after unsuccessfully searching for a buyer willing to keep its remaining 137 stores open.

The 94-year-old, Beltsville-based chain filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in June, three years after surviving its first bankruptcy, The Washington Post reported.

On Sept. 6, Ritz was sold at auction to a partnership of two firms that will liquidate the stores through going-out-of-business sales, Bloomberg reports.

According to Bloomberg, the chain has struggled as consumers increasingly rely on digital photography rather than processing film at a camera store.

The Ritz store remains open for now, and an employee couldn’t confirm Thursday when it would close.

Are you sad to see the Ritz Camera Store go? Did you frequent the shop? What would you like to see in its place? Tell us in the comments.