Not so fast. It turns out that the beloved B&B department store on Asbury Avenue and the two B&B Long Beach Island locations will only be closing temporarily and should be reopened by summer.

In a published report in NJ.com, Jeffrey Davidson, B&B Department stores executive vice president, said that the family-owned company split in 2006 to a “north” and “south” ownership, and the “north” group will be reopening both LBI locations and the Ocean City store.

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Davidson hopes to have the stores reopen by May and is already planning a grand reopening around Memorial Day.

He told NJ.com that some of the nostalgic items hanging from the ceiling in the Ocean City store, like the plane and buggy, will remain in place.

Wednesday, B&B Department Store posted a message on the store's Facebook page saying "B&B Department Store South is closing its physical store operations. We thank you for your patronage, and it's been a pleasure to serve you."

The store has been in operation since 1974. It had other locations in Ship Bottom and Beach Haven on Long Beach Island, and Sea Girt, Monmouth County.

B&B store co-founder Philip Bertole died in 2010 and his widow Helen Bertole has been running the store's operations since his death. Helen Bertole is planning to retire.

In the NJ.com article, Jeffery Davidson said his ownership group didn't plan to re-open the Sea Girt location.

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