Spark Capital-backed Storefront shuts down its pop-up retail platform

Storefront has shut down. The company, which specializes in making it easier for anyone to find and rent short-term retail space, announced on its site that as of March 17, it was no longer in operations. It didn’t provide any specific reason for the sudden closure.

Founded in 2012, Storefront was an online marketplace that paired artists, designers, and brands with available retail spaces. But instead of a long-term lease, it was more akin to the Airbnb model. The company raised $8.9 million in funding from investors like 500 Startups, AngelPad, Mohr Davidow Ventures, Sand Hill Angels, and Spark Capital.

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The shutdown comes just a month after Storefront expanded its operations to more cities. It had been available in New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Boston, Miami, and Washington, D.C.

The company provided access to more than 10 million square feet of short-term commercial real estate rentals in the past four years, with about 30,000 companies registered. Cofounder and chief executive Erik Eliason once said that Storefront had opened roughly 3,000 storefront locations.

Some of the brands that used the service include Jawbone, Indochino, Ministry of Supply, Mizzen & Main, and Orley.

Here’s Storefront’s letter to its community:

Dear Storefront Community,

We started Storefront four years ago to make it easier for emerging brands and entrepreneurs to access retail space. I am proud of the progress our team has made: we helped thousands of brands open stores and build meaningful relationships with their customers and had a positive impact on the local economies in which we operated.

Unfortunately, we are ceasing operations effective March 17, 2016. We want to thank you for your support over the last four years in helping making retail accessible. We are grateful for your support.

Sincerely,

The Storefront Team

We’ve reached out to Storefront for more information about its closing and will update if we hear back.