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What came first: America’s obsession with Halloween or Party City?
Steve Mandell launched Party City in 1986 as a single store in New Jersey. He sold cups, napkins and other supplies for birthday and holiday get-togethers. But it was the costumes that became the goldmine.
“I never expected Halloween to be anything like it,” Mandell says. “After my first year in the business, I said, ‘Wow!'”
Fast forward 39 years and Party City is sweeping away the confetti and turning off the lights. Two bankruptcy proceedings have failed to get the chain’s finances in order.
“I’m really…