Vann’s electronics and appliances will have to move out of its Evergreen store by June 30, but Chief Executive Officer Greg Regelbrugge hopes to reopen Vann’s at a new site in Kalispell.

Vann’s Acquisition LLC, which purchased the company after it filed for bankruptcy last year, announced Monday that it would be leaving the Missoula and Hamilton markets.

The new owners were unable to come up with a compromise with Vann’s founder Pete Vann to stay in three buildings he owns, including the Evergreen store. But Regelbrugge said the company is working to maintain its presence in the Kalispell area.

“We are trying to find a space that gives us the ability to continue to support our builder business and retail consumers,” Regelbrugge said.

The search for a new location is focused on the U.S. 93 business area, Regelbrugge said. The new store does not need to be bigger than the current Evergreen Vann’s site, he said, it just needs to be closer to the valley’s current retail hub.

“Most retailers have moved to north 93, and we need to be close to save consumers time,” he said. “When they’re shopping at Home Depot or Best Buy or Costco, we want to give them a local alternative. I don’t care how much money someone has, no one has enough time.”

Regelbrugge said the timing of the situation is frustrating, since the company has been logging promising sales figures.

“We’ve had increases every single month in the last three months, some stores even 20 to 30 percent more,” he said.

Vann’s is holding a liquidation sale for the merchandise in its Hamilton store before it closes at the end of this month. The Missoula store will follow suit before it closes at the end of May, and eventually a “lost our lease” sale will be held in Evergreen.

Regelbrugge said Vann’s wants to do everything it can to save the eight jobs at the Flathead Valley store, and possibly even bring some of the personnel from the Missoula or Hamilton stores to Kalispell if needed.

“If it works out it would be great,” he said of a Kalispell move. “The worst-case scenario is we would have to exit that market. So if anyone has a building they want to lease ... ”

Vann’s stores in Billings and Bozeman are not affected by the lease issues and will remain open.

Reporter Heidi Gaiser may be reached at 758-4439 or by email at hgaiser@dailyinterlake.com.