Barely two years after it opened, Medford's Hancock Fabrics store is among 104 the Baldwyn, Miss., chain says it's closing.

Hancock Fabric Inc. also announced today it has filed a voluntary petition for Chapter 11 protection. Its subsidiaries are filing for the same relief.

The 14,400-square-foot store in the WinCo Center on East Barnett Road will operate another six to 10 weeks, manager Maureen Hunt said.

The Medford store opened in January 2005 during a rapid growth phase for the company, which announced Feb. 8 that it was closing 30 stores. Tuesday's announcement will mean the shuttering of about a third of Hancock's operations.

"We found out pretty much when it was released to the press," said Hunt, whose store employs 11.

The company filed for Chapter 11 protection in the U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. Hancock said it has negotiated a consensual $105 million debtor-in-possession financing arrangement with Wachovia Bank, from which Hancock will gain additional borrowing capacity to operate under Chapter 11. The company reported it also is in the final stages of negotiating an additional loan of up to $17.5 million with another lender.

Hancock said the stores it is closing represent approximately $75 million in annual sales. Earlier this month, the retailer said it ran 403 stores in 40 states.

The company, which bills itself as America's Fabric Store, carries fashion and home decorating textiles, sewing accessories, needlecraft supplies and sewing machines at its retail locations and Web site. Hancock said it has hired a liquidation firm to assist in closing sales during the next three to four months and a real estate firm to help in lease disposition.