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Teenagers tried on jeans and T-shirts Thursday as pop songs by Amanda Bynes and The Jonas Brothers blared on high-definition TV screens all over Steve and Barry’s at Oak Hollow Mall.

The shoppers there had reason to celebrate — they were sure the store would be empty by now.

When Steve and Barry’s announced last month that the company would declare bankruptcy, it seemed like another in a series of setbacks for Oak Hollow. The mall has seen sales decline in recent years as popular stores move out.

So when news spread this week that Steve and Barry’s would be bailed out by a hedge fund, it came as a relief to employees, customers and those hoping the mall can keep from going under.

Steve and Barry’s, a hip discount clothing store with celebrity fashion lines, is one of the mall’s more popular stores, especially with younger shoppers.

“We have just seen that, year after year, good stores leave the mall, and we were sure it was going to happen again this time,” said Regina Foley, 36. “I think that would have been just a terrible store to lose, too.”

Foley said she’s shopped at the mall since it opened,  and now that she has teenage daughters, they love Steve and Barry’s. The store sells all its clothes for less than $10 and shoes for less than $20 — including popular lines by actress Sarah Jessica Parker, basketball players Stephon Marbury and Ben Wallace, and tennis star Venus Williams.

“That’s the best thing about this store, that they have good, popular clothes that don’t cost a fortune,” Foley said.

The hedge fund buying Steve and Barry’s is BHY S&B Holdings. Under the terms of the $168 million purchase, most of the 276 Steve and Barry’s stores across the country will stay open.

The manager of Oak Hollow’s Steve and Barry’s said the store now has no plans to close unless it is told otherwise by the corporate office. According to Rachel Brenner, a spokeswoman for the company, any decision about closings will be announced soon.

“It was a big relief to hear they weren’t going to close, honestly,” said Stephanie Reynolds, 15, who owns eight pairs of jeans from Sarah Jessica Parker’s clothing line, Bitten. On Thursday, she bought two pairs of shoes from the line.

“This store is like the only reason to come to the mall,” Reynolds said.

Contact Joe Killian at 883-4422, Ext. 228, or joe.killian@news-record.com