SAN ANTONIO — It's news that came as a shock to schools nationwide.
DENNIS Uniform, the largest provider of its kind in the U.S., abruptly shut their doors earlier this month.
The company's only location in San Antonio took the sign off the building.
Now, schools and families are left scrambling to find another place to go.
School leaders like Sharon Newman, Head of School at Buckner Fanning School at Mission Springs, say they were never notified about the closure from the company. Instead, they're finding out from parents.
In a letter to Oregon state officials, where DENNIS Uniform corporate headquarters was located, the company stated the reason for the closure was financial distress.
While some schools like Buckner Fanning already worked with two suppliers and had a backup ready, others were not as lucky.
The only trace of DENNIS Uniform in a business park off De Zavala is the store hours on the door and a few racks of uniforms sitting in the dark.
"The school community is affected by it. Valor and Great Hearts are two that come to mind," said Inga Cotton, Executive Director of the non-profit San Antonio Charter Moms.
Cotton says she was aware orders from DENNIS were taking a while, thanks to chatter among parents online.
"Great Hearts Western Hills folks, they're having a used uniform sale [Friday] to get some of their used uniform inventory out to families who have been struggling to get their orders from DENNIS. And now we know why," said Cotton.
What makes this situation even more difficult, she added, is there's typically only one place parents can buy their school's uniform.
"When you have to buy a logo item from a particular vendor because they're controlling the trademark, then that makes it more of an obstacle for families," said Cotton. "It has to do with kids self esteem, right? They want to show up at school ready to learn, wearing the right stuff, blending in and being ready to learn. Uniforms are an important part of that."
In response to the closure, Jesse Bates, Chief Operating Officer of charter school Valor San Antonio, sent parents an e-mail.
He said in-part, "This abrupt news came as a shock to Valor and was not something we were made aware of in advance. As a uniform company that has existed for over a hundred years and has served Valor since 2018, this news was entirely unexpected."
Tuesday, the school followed up with a temporary plan.
Headmaster of Valor San Antonio, Dr. Mark Discher, wrote in an e-mail, "Before purchasing alternatives, please check your school's used uniform closet and the Valor Swap Facebook group where you can find many DENNIS uniform items that other Valor families no longer need. If you still need to find an alternative for an item in your child's uniform after using these resources, you may substitute the required items."
Underneath, he included a list of approved polos, oxfords, cardigans, skirts and skorts students can wear in the meantime as an alternative.
"I was like, 'Whoa!' Yeah, quite a shock," said Robert Hernandez, owner of the Schoolyard and Urban Uniforms, a locally-owned and operated store.
Hernandez said one of the schools he services, St. Luke's Catholic School, notified him about the DENNIS Uniform closure.
"When I first thought about it, I said, 'Jeez, that's terrible'," said Hernandez. "But as a business owner, it's an opportunity."
Since the news broke, Hernandez began calling around to schools to see how he can help fill the void.
"I think bringing on an additional few would be perfect. But, at the end of the day, I think it's really up to the schools to decide where they want to go," said Hernandez.
Valor San Antonio also mentioned that many families are still waiting on their DENNIS orders. Unfortunately, when school officials tried to contact the company asking how the matter would be handled, there was no one to help.
The school recommends parents call their bank or credit card company to ask for a refund.
KENS 5 e-mailed the Archdiocese of San Antonio, BASIS Charter Schools, Valor Education and Great Hearts Texas to for more information on future plans. They did not immediately respond to our request for comment.