y Ylan Q. Mui
Washington Post Staff Writer

Mastercraft Interiors Ltd., a furniture store based in Beltsville that specialized in 18th- and 19th-century reproductions, filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection yesterday in the face of declining sales and changing consumer tastes.

According to documents filed in federal bankruptcy court, the company has $10.6 million in assets. Liabilities total $25.5 million. Revenue fell by $5.2 million to $45.3 million last year.

Mastercraft Vice President of Merchandising Carolyn Gomez, wife of owner and founder Douglas Gomez, said the chain’s four stores will continue operating during the bankruptcy proceedings.

The company employs about 150 people in Rockville, Annapolis, Fairfax and Alexandria and at a warehouse and clearance center in Beltsville. It recently closed its store in Leesburg.

The company was founded in 1977 by Douglas Gomez and his brother Dan at a time when chain retailers such as Crate & Barrel and Pottery Barn had yet to dominate the market. Carolyn Gomez said that shoppers’ tastes have shifted away in recent years from Mastercraft’s traditional styles.

The company’s largest creditor is Bank of America, which is owed $10.3 million on the company’s line of credit. Gomez said Mastercraft will be liquidated but gave no timeline.

“It’s one day at a time,” she said.