Spirit Halloween haunts Richmond's retail ghosts
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Spirit Halloween is haunting the shells of former big-box stores again this fall as it opens 1,500 locations nationwide.
Why it matters: The self-styled largest Halloween retailer in North America appears and vanishes each fall, so finding this year's store often involves local shorthand, like "Where the old Party City used to be."
By the numbers: Of the locations analyzed by Axios, 153 — just over 1 in 10 — were labeled "Former Joann" stores in Spirit's locator.
- Joann closed all of its fabric and craft stores in 2025.
- Former Big Lots stores ranked second with 103 locations, followed by Party City with 100.
Zoom in: Richmond has plenty of retail ghosts of its own.
- At least six Spirit Halloween stores are haunting Richmond-area shopping centers this fall, including a former Joann at Westchester Commons, the old Sears at Chesterfield Towne Center and a former CVS on Staples Mill Road.
- There are also two popping up in former Painted Tree locations — a vendor-marketplace chain that abruptly shuttered nationwide in April — one in Midlothian and another in the West End.
Zoom out: Spirit relies on temporary leases to transform vacant storefronts into seasonal shops.
- The arrangements bring property owners exposure and a few months of rent while they search for long-term tenants.
The bottom line: A familiar storefront in a new orange costume is a telltale sign that spooky season has arrived.