The company will close 53 stores that trade as Threshers, Victoria Wine, Haddows and Bottoms Up.

BBC: A Threshers shop

Despite conventional wisdom about the danger of shark attacks, diving with threshers is relatively safe.

BBC: Swimming with sharks in the Philippines

Threshers-owner First Quench collapsed in 2009, while the Unwins chain folded in 2005.

BBC: Oddbins goes into administration

Champagne sales are 30% higher this year than in 1998, Threshers said.

BBC: Champagne sales jump

"1999 is a year of celebration, " a Threshers spokeswoman said.

BBC: Champagne sales jump

There will be a four-performance encore over Labor Day weekend during the Old Threshers Reunion, an annual event that celebrates the agricultural heritage of the Midwest and typically attracts 80, 000 visitors to Mount Pleasant.

WSJ: A Permanent Home for the Itinerant Life | By Joanne Kaufman