University Art, for decades a fixture of Sacramento’s midtown, is closing its doors, its longtime home now under new ownership.
The shop closes Oct. 12. The Bay Area owners of the longtime art supply store on J Street at 26th Street broke the news on its website . A banner stretched across the storefront’s window confirmed it. A closeout sale began earlier this week as the art-and-crafts retailer says goodbye to Sacramento.
University Art’s Redwood City flagship will remain open.
“There’s a lot of sad customers, a lot of sad faces,” said Kristin Roff, manager at University Art. Roff marked 24 years at the Sacramento store in September. “This is the last independent art store in Sacramento.”
The store’s owners, Roff said, are now semi-retired and spend the majority of their time in the Bay Area. The store, a 9,500-square-foot space part of a larger property that includes vacant retail space and residences to the rear, has been on the market for several years, Roff said, but interest in the midtown listing picked up in the weeks before the sale was announced.