Exhibit 99.1

The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. Announces Closing of Pottstown, Pennsylvania
Location

    YORK, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--June 3, 2004--The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.
(Nasdaq:BONT) today announced it will close its Pottstown,
Pennsylvania store effective July 31, 2004. The Pottstown store will
continue to offer a full merchandise assortment and honor the
company's hassle-free return and exchange policy until it closes.
Thereafter, Pottstown customers may return merchandise to any other
Bon-Ton location.
    The Bon-Ton acquired the leasehold interest in the 90,000 square
feet Pottstown location in December 1998 and the store opened under
the Bon-Ton name on August 19, 1999. The lease terminates July 31,
2004. The cost of closing this location will approximate $1.7 million
to $2.0 million. This charge was not anticipated in the Company's
earnings guidance for the year; however, the Company expects to
perform in the range of the earnings guidance of $1.20 to $1.40 per
share for fiscal 2004. The closing has been reported to the
appropriate state and local officials in accordance with the WARN Act
and will impact approximately 96 associates.
    Mr. Baireuther, vice chairman and chief administrative officer,
stated, "We sincerely appreciate the loyalty and dedication of our
associates and the support of our Pottstown store customers. We remain
committed to our customers in the Pottstown area and encourage them to
visit our store in Reading, Pennsylvania."
    Affected associates will be offered the opportunity to interview
for available positions at our Reading store as well as other Bon-Ton
locations. Associates will receive career transition benefits
including severance, career counseling and state employment service
support.
    The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc. operates 142 department stores in 16
states from the Northeast to the Midwest under the Bon-Ton and
Elder-Beerman names. The stores carry a broad assortment of quality
brand-name fashion apparel and accessories for women, men and
children, as well as distinctive home furnishings. For further
information, please visit the investor relations section of the
Company's website at www.bonton.com/investor/home.asp.

    Statements made in this press release, other than statements of
historical information, are forward looking statements and are made
pursuant to the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities
Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve risks and
uncertainties that may cause results to differ materially from those
set forth in these statements. Factors that could cause such
differences include, but are not limited to, risks related to retail
businesses generally, our ability to integrate the recently acquired
Elder-Beerman stores into our over-all operations, additional
competition from existing and new competitors, uncertainties
associated with opening new stores or expanding or remodeling existing
stores, the ability to attract and retain qualified management, the
dependence upon key vendor relationships and the ability to obtain
financing for working capital, capital expenditures and general
corporate purposes. Additional factors that could cause the Company's
actual results to differ from those contained in these forward looking
statements are discussed in greater detail in the Company's periodic
reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission.

    CONTACT: The Bon-Ton Stores, Inc.
             Mary Kerr
             Vice President
             Corporate Communications
             (717) 751-3071