Luxury furniture company Mitchell Gold + Bob Williams is closing

Catch up quick: Last weekend, signs were posted at the company's North Carolina furniture plant telling employees not to return, according to the Taylorsville Times.

• Interim CEO Chris Moye wrote in a letter to employees that the economic climate has presented challenges in securing additional financing to continue operations, the Washington Post reports.
• The company's roughly 800 employees were notified over the weekend, per the Post.

The intrigue: The pioneering D.C. design store is open, as of Wednesday. "The store is closing. We don't know when and we don't know any details," an employee told Axios.

Flashback: Founders Mitchell Gold and Bob Williams opened in 1989 and sold the company in 2015 to the Stephens Group, an Arkansas-based private equity firm. They retired from management and active board roles in recent years while remaining connected to the business.

What they're saying: "I am furious and heartbroken," Mitchell Gold told Furniture Today, sharing hopes that a new buyer might come along. "As a company, we had a strong moral compass, and we always treated people right. My hope is that a new company will emerge with that at its core."

• A representative from the Stephens Group tells Axios that they recently invested another $20 million to restructure the furniture company. Shortly after, the company's lender withdrew support, forcing the business to close.

• "While we do everything we can to support our portfolio companies, how their stories play out are not always fully within our control," the spokesperson said in a statement.

Between the lines: The furniture industry is in flux due to the economy and consumer behavior, with more people spending on travel over home improvements, according to Furniture Today experts.

• Klaussner, a major N.C.-based furniture maker, shut down earlier this month.