Hills/Ames - Elyria, OH / Cleveland St. Location - Update!

[jason83080]

I was heading down past the old Ames to Big Lots, only to discover that the old Ames is going to be the new home to the Big Lots that's currently in an old Kroger building (complete with the flagpoles still attached!) on E Broad St about a mile or so away. My first thought was, "Are they going to keep two stores open so close to each other?" (Dollar Tree has a portion of this old Ames, and they just built a brand new store a few miles away in Chestnut Commons by the rather large Walmart, as part of the development down there.) My second thought was, "Did I miss Big Lots entirely and it's there now?"

Well, no and no. No, they're closing the older one for the newer one. No, I didn't miss it, but what little they had left (about 1/10 of the available floor space is open for business, while the rest is cordoned off) is 50% off, so it's going to be any day now that the new one opens.

I also noticed that the neighboring Tops (which, after they split in '06, became a Giant Eagle for about a year or two) was having some work done on it, as well, complete with a heaping pile of trash out back. Of course, being the very amateur urban explorer that I am, I also had to get a picture of.

Big Lots kicked out the couple of remaining tenants from when this Ames was first subdivided - Best Cuts and Fast Cash Income Tax (the latter of which might have already closed down) and blew out the walls to both sides of what's left of the building. Considering the old store, this location looks to be larger than the old one, but I'm not sure, as I only drove past. I don't think it goes BACK that far into the space, but I'll know more when it actually opens.

Some photos, including the street sign. Back in the day, Ames's sign was on top, with the sign for Finast/Tops underneath. The frame for Tops is still used by everyone, but Dollar Tree finally has an actual sign now, instead of the banner that they've had ever since they opened. The Ames sign is gone and, yes, so is the Receiving sign from the back.

https://imgur.com/a/oaPwH