Big Lots

[standa]

Had an appointment in Wallingford today. Mom and I stopped at the Wallingford Big Lots. Wow! What a dump. Plus they had an old school sign on the building. Anyone know what was there before?

The Wallingford Big Lots was at one time a Finast Super Center, later changing its name to Edwards and then becoming a Shaws for about one year, until Shaws opened their new store, which is now Shoprite.

[bubcolbert1952]

Unfortunately the Big Lots in Bristol PA (which seemed to be a perfect fit for the otherwise dead shopping center and community it was in) recently closed because the whole shopping center is being demolished for a freeway expansion. It seemed like work was being done on the former Giant down the street in Levittown though, which would seem to suggest Big Lots will reopen at that site. The old Big Lots, which opened in 2002 around the same time Giant moved to a new location, was a former Rickel hardware store. I guess the Big Lots suffered anyway though after the Pathmark next door closed, which was soon after the new Giant opened.

[TheFugitive]

I was in their West Mifflin, PA location over the weekend (a former Hills store). 

First time in a long time.
It had been remodeled and given a new layout.  I liked it.   Much less cluttered and
chaotic than the old layout.

[bubcolbert1952]

Surprisingly the former Big Lots in Clementon NJ (which opened in the 80's as an early Big Lots) just had its street signs updated to the modern logo from 2001, but kept its old, faded sign with the words "bargains/closeouts" on the front. What's up with that?

Also, there was an Acme from the 70's across the street that closed in the 90's. It sat empty and rotting along with what once was a Grant City, then a Woolco but never became anything else afterward except a flea market and maybe a Halloween store next door. What's a shame is that the identical former Acme in Norristown PA has been a Big Lots for a long time and has preserved its Acme features perfectly, only replacing the fixtures that really needed to be changed. Considering the Big Lots in Clementon is tiny and selection is disappointing, I really was hoping they would move to the Acme site which would seem to be the perfect size, but it never happened. I guess it hurt that the much larger Woolco never became anything else. Kmart wasn't interested which is sad, and I was thinking Acme would have opened a more modern store at the Woolco site, but neither happened. And people say what killed Clementon as a good retail district was the opening of a shopping center in nearby Berlin in 1987, around the same time as the Big Lots opened in Clementon. Home Depot, ShopRite, and Rite Aid (Eckerd before them) all have stores in this center, but all are sorely small and out of date. And if only Home Depot had moved to the old Woolco site, ShopRite could have moved to the original Home Depot, and Eckerd/Rite Aid could have moved to the original ShopRite site.

[ynkeesfn82]

They rearranged things in the Bristol, Connecticut store during 2013. It still doesn't do a lot of business. I really like the store and I hope they don't close, but since the shopping center is in the process of be revitalized the landlord may tell them "Bye." The next closest one to me is in Waterbury (and it's much smaller). I don't get up to Waterbury as often as I go to Bristol. The 33,000 square foot anchor spot left vacant by the closure of Sears Appliance and Hardware is being filled by Hobby Lobby this summer. They're also taking the adjacent 17,000 Square Foot spot left vacant by the closure of The Salvation Army Thrift Store a few years ago. According to an article in the paper last week a restaurant and another store are looking into the plaza, which is why I saw it's in the process of being revitalized.

[MikeRa]

Unfortunately the Big Lots in Bristol PA (which seemed to be a perfect fit for the otherwise dead shopping center and community it was in) recently closed because the whole shopping center is being demolished for a freeway expansion. It seemed like work was being done on the former Giant down the street in Levittown though, which would seem to suggest Big Lots will reopen at that site. The old Big Lots, which opened in 2002 around the same time Giant moved to a new location, was a former Rickel hardware store. I guess the Big Lots suffered anyway though after the Pathmark next door closed, which was soon after the new Giant opened.

wheres the freeway expansion at and whats the route number of a freeway?

It is the connection of the Pennsylvania Turnpike (currently I-276) and I-95

[retailisking]

Big Lots has closed their store that was half of a former Bradlees at the Windham Mall in Windham, ME. The other half, which was the Windham Mall Cinema and Five Star Cinema, has reopened as Smitty's Cinema. This ex-Big Lots would make a great Ocean State Job Lot.

[Stork of The Weak]

What's up with Big Lots making so few changes to the buildings they move into? It's neat to see the historical remains of the tenants before them that closed, but I have to criticize Big Lots for not doing anything to give their stores a unique edge over the competition, and not making their stores visually memorable (to the average shopper, who probably has absolutely no interest whatsoever in store history). Relying on closeouts has probably also hurt Big Lots over the years. If the Big Lots concept could be applied to non-closeout stores, it would seem to be a huge success, and a serious threat to Walmart and Kmart. People these days seem to hate walking all over a huge store to find several necessity items under one roof, so Big Lots has an advantage over the big boxes.

[zonemad96]

What's up with Big Lots making so few changes to the buildings they move into? It's neat to see the historical remains of the tenants before them that closed, but I have to criticize Big Lots for not doing anything to give their stores a unique edge over the competition, and not making their stores visually memorable (to the average shopper, who probably has absolutely no interest whatsoever in store history). Relying on closeouts has probably also hurt Big Lots over the years. If the Big Lots concept could be applied to non-closeout stores, it would seem to be a huge success, and a serious threat to Walmart and Kmart. People these days seem to hate walking all over a huge store to find several necessity items under one roof, so Big Lots has an advantage over the big boxes.

I went to the Big Lots in the former circuit city located at 2980 Whiteford Rd, York, PA and it's the nicest big lots I have ever been in. Really wish more of their stores looked like this...

[Stork of The Weak]

Big Lots just recently closed their store in Moosic, PA which is a shame because it was a former Acme from the 70's that had few or no changes at all done to it by Big Lots, which opened there in the late 80's. A Shur-Fine supermarket is supposed to open there soon, so while it's nice to see the store return to its supermarket roots, unfortunately it will be stripped of all its beautifully preserved Acme features.

[Hudsons81]

A picture I took on January 5, 2013 of my nearest Big Lots in Southgate, MI. It has been unchanged from the 2008 photo that wiseguy93 posted on page 5 of this thread. This particular one opened sometime between 1997 (a phone directory from that year still listed a supermarket (not Kroger) at that location) and 2001 (when the current logo was introduced). This one only uses the current logo on the road sign, all other signs at this location still use the logo seen here.

[jason83080]

I went to the Big Lots in the former circuit city located at 2980 Whiteford Rd, York, PA and it's the nicest big lots I have ever been in. Really wish more of their stores looked like this...
~snip~

That "fake black back wall" must be the signature of taking over an electronics store, because there's a CompUSA-turned-Big-Lots that has the exact same wall (minus the writing - that must be new) in the back of their store. (They also left the metallic facade alone, only painting the red bits orange!)

[retailisking]

The Bangor Parkade store is only five years old; it's a former Linens 'n Things. The BDN does a pretty decent job of connecting the dots.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/11/13/business/bangor-big-lots-store-closing-after-holiday-season-company-official-says/

[ynkeesfn82]

Just went to Big Lots in Bristol, CT for the first time in a few weeks. They added a Frozen Food/Refrigerated Food section.

[Hudsons81]

An early Big Lots in Lincoln Park, Michigan, December 1989. This has since been demolished for the current Lincoln Park Post Office. Photos courtesy of the Downriver Things Flickr page.

[Retail Fan+ (Justin Hill)]

The Bangor Parkade store is only five years old; it's a former Linens 'n Things. The BDN does a pretty decent job of connecting the dots.

http://bangordailynews.com/2014/11/13/business/bangor-big-lots-store-closing-after-holiday-season-company-official-says/

The Big Lots store in Green Bay, Wisconsin is also located inside a former Linens-N-Things (which was also previously a Vendors Galore, and before that, a Prange Way Discount Department Store.) located in Green Bay Plaza at the intersection of Military Avenue and Mason Street, behind Taco Bell, and next to TJ Maxx/HomeGoods.




This location previously occupied a former Kohl's Food Store from 1992 to 2010 (now torn down with a strip mall and set to be replaced with the Stadium District development next to Lambeau Field) on Lombardi Avenue next to an (also torn down for the same development) Kmart store. (I used to work in the back of this Big Lots in high school in 2007 and 2008)

[MikeRa]

This location previously occupied a former Kohl's Food Store from 1992 to 2010 (now torn down with a strip mall and set to be replaced with the Stadium District development next to Lambeau Field) on Lombardi Avenue next to an (also torn down for the same development) Kmart store. (I used to work in the back of this Big Lots in high school in 2007 and 2008)

when i was in the Orlando area a couple o weeks ago, i noticed a lot of Big Lots using the older logo.   I didn't take any pics since I was in a moving vechile.

[JimSawhill]

There's a closed BigLots in a dead shopping center...The shopping center was built as a Woolco/KashNKarry in the 70s. The KashNKarry is mostly a thrift store while the Woolco is now Tampa Business Interiors. TBI and a church does the most business...even the ValuePawn doesn't do much business.

[giantsfan2016]

Big Lots opened summer 2017 next to Hobby Lobby in East Haven, CT.

http://www.nhregister.com/business/article/Big-Lots-headed-to-Frontage-Road-in-East-Haven-11318124.php

[jason83080]

I mentioned this over in the "Stores" subforum in the Ames section, but I'll share it here, as well. The old Big Lots on E Broad St over in Elyria, OH, is moving to a brand new location... Inside the former Ames on Cleveland St, which has been largely vacant since the company went out of business!

Here's a photo of the new store. The sign area is from the plaza owner refacing the whole thing with the intent on subdividing it. It didn't go well, since Dollar Tree (far left in my photo below) is the only thing left. The only other tenants to bite were RentWay, a Fast Cash Express Tax, and Best Cuts. Upon Big Lots taking over, I think the only thing left was Best Cuts.



--

Two edits: First, from what I heard, Big Lots purchased the entire strip, and the old Tops is going to be converted into their warehouse. How true that is, I don't know, but if it's true, then it's a heck of an upgrade. Second, here's a photo of the current store, in what is apparently an old Superstore-type Kroger building from the mid-'70s:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/otterphotos/4323636862/in/photostream/

I don't know what could move into the area next. The old DIY/Bookseller Video building across the parking lot is partially for sale (the Bookseller Video side), while the county owns the DIY building, which - ironically - still has the Enter and Exit signs up, and the green/yellow paint job. I'm sure the inside looks identical, except for the back wall that they had to replace when the roof collapsed a few years back, effectively killing the flea market that was leasing the building. That particular DIY was home to their discount substore, FrugalBees, which might be why it had the green/yellow paint job. When the flea market was there, I stopped inside one day, and I could see the different colored pillars from where FrugalBees was.

[MikeinBuffalo]

The closest Big Lots to me used to be a Vix, and they did not do a very good job changing things around. Most of the Vix red color remains on the building.

I never liked shopping there, because it seems so generic and blah.

[MikeinBuffalo]

This Big Lots has the old logo, and is inside what used to be a very small Tops. Still looks like a Tops on the inside.

It's attached to this. Can you guess what this used to be?

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[JJBers]

A Stop and Shop?
Ohhhhh, it's a Ames.

[MikeinBuffalo]

A Stop and Shop?
Ohhhhh, it's a Ames.

;D

[jason83080]

I went to our new Big Lots this afternoon for their official grand opening, and decided to peek back into their stockroom. Guess what I saw?

THE GREEN STRIPE! BRAND LOGOS! A+ GRAPHICS!

STILL THERE!

Oddly, the Dollar Tree next door didn't keep the Ames graphics for their stockroom, but Big Lots did! I was going to get a picture, but it was super busy in the store, and there were workers milling about, so I didn't want to angle my phone back into their stockroom to take a picture of the wall, but, if you're ever in the area, peek back and check it out!

I would've thought that, when they refaced the plaza, they would have gutted the inside. Evidently, they didn't! I also realized either how small Ames was or how large this Big Lots is, because BL encompasses most of the building.

[JJBers]

Here is the Big Lots from Norwich, this was a former Caldor before the mall was renovated into a strip mall:

Norwichtown Commons by JJBers, on Flickr
I would have a photo of the Big Lots in East Hartford, but it came out blurry, so instead enjoy this photo of the sign:

Charter Oak Mall (East Hartford, Connecticut) by JJBers, on Flickr
It's in a sketchy area, so that's why.

[giantsfan2016]

Here is the Big Lots from Norwich, this was a former Caldor before the mall was renovated into a strip mall:

Norwichtown Commons by JJBers, on Flickr

After Caldor it was Bob's Discount Furniture for a few years before they moved to Niantic.

[giantsfan2016]

Charter Oak Mall (East Hartford, Connecticut) by JJBers, on Flickr
It's in a sketchy area, so that's why.

I don't go to East Hartford very often, but it's been my observation that most of the city is sketchy. That's why even when I do get my own automobile I don't think I'm going to take my friend up on his offer to sit in on his radio show on La Mega, which has their studios on Burnside Avenue. He hosts 2 shows on the station - one that's mainly in Spanish and the other that's mainly in English. Obviously I would sit in on the show that he does in English.

[JJBers]

Here is the Big Lots from Norwich, this was a former Caldor before the mall was renovated into a strip mall:

Norwichtown Commons by JJBers, on Flickr

After Caldor it was Bob's Discount Furniture for a few years before they moved to Niantic.

They also have a location just south of Taftville

[MikeinBuffalo]

It's in a sketchy area, so that's why.

There's an abandoned Wal-Mart by me that is the same deal. It's in pristine condition, but it's in the worst area of town and I'm sure I would interrupt a coke deal if I went shooting pictures.