Cost Plus Closeouts

[Retail_247]

Does anybody remember the Cost Plus chain of stores by chance?

I'm not talking about the Cost Plus World Market stores, but a small chain of closeout stores based in New England.

They were founded in Rhode Island (I think) and were a pretty small chain, with I want to say over 10 locations scattered around Rhode Island and Massachusetts.

If my memory serves me correctly, I believe I remember reading an article years ago about how the Cost Plus chain filed for bankruptcy and liquidated / went out of business sometime in (or possible around?) 2001, the same year as Bradlees.

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Image via the AmesFanClub photo gallery

[TheFugitive]

Very cool.  Thanks for sharing this!

I was unfamiliar with this chain as I've never lived in New England.
I've only been there twice, each time to visit Ames' headquarters in Rocky Hill when I worked for them.  I don't recall anybody mentioning them when I was there.

Cost Plus reminds me of a series of campy ads for a car dealership in Carrollton, Ohio.
The owner would dress-up as a superhero and appear in his ads as Mr. Cost Plus, saving his customers from the scourge of high prices.  These aired on WSTV (now WTOV) in Steubenville, Ohio.  That's only 35 miles from Pittsburgh and the station was watched by a lot of people here back in the rabbit ear days.  The ads are well-remembered here.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ts73EGTqXxA
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayi-tmqkzRM