Steve & Barry’s, the low-price college-themed retailer that declared bankruptcy in July, will close its store at Westfield Gateway.

Martin Higgins, a Steve & Barry’s spokesman, confirmed Tuesday that the Lincoln store is among roughly 100 or so of the chain’s stores nationwide that will close.

Higgins did not say when the local store will close.

“No hard date has been set yet for the last day, however the ‘Store Closing’ clearance sale has already begun,” he said.

Steve & Barry’s, which is known for casual clothing priced at $10.98 or less, was bought for $163 million about a week and a half ago,  by BHY S&B Holdings LLC, a newly formed affiliate of investment firms Bay Harbour Management and York Capital Management.

At the time, BHY S&B said it planned to keep the majority of Steve & Barry’s 276 stores open.

Higgins said about 170 stores will remain open, including the Steve & Barry’s at Brentwood Square in La Vista.

He did not say why the Gateway store was among those closing, but according to documents filed as part of the company’s bankruptcy, Steve & Barry’s owes Westfield Group, the Australian company that owns Gateway, more than $800,000 in back rent at Gateway and 12 other malls.

Steve & Barry’s opened at Gateway in November 2003, filling the 80,000-square-foot space formerly occupied by Montgomery Ward, which left the mall in the summer of 2000.

Its closing will be a blow to Gateway, which has lost several other smaller tenants in the past year, including KB Toys and B.Dalton Bookseller.

Chris Kinerson, Gateway’s general manager, could not be reached for comment Tuesday.

Reach Matt Olberding at 473-2647 or molberding@journalstar.com.