Soon to be Former Kmart #3521

Since this store is officially closing on the 11th of this month, once again I find it fitting to feature a store before its closing was announced. While I have no pictures of this store's liquidation, (and I do not plan too) I did take two separate trips to get some pictures of this rather unique Kmart. This store is soon to leave the Binghamton market dry of any Kmart.1

This particular store was previously a Grandway store, which explains why this store is so interesting both visually and in layout. All pictures of this store were taken during normal operations.

While this store is technically not closed yet, I just put 'store closed' due to there only being 8 days left in its operation.

To start the tour off, we will start by going to into the clothing area first and working our way around counter-clockwise and end at the best parts of this store, the pharmacy and garden shop.

All security gets to see is clearance I guess....

Unlike some stores, this one did manage to get some mannequins. Hopefully they will be sent to another store that lacks them.

Stockroom door with retro 'out' sign.

'"Who forgot to close the door?"'

This store was still using its electronic desk at a time when most had them removed.

You can see the odd arrangement of this store in these last three photos and the two below. The main actionway suddenly stops at an aisle of furniture displays. 

The best of the store followed by health and beauty:

Rating: 4 out of 10. The biggest negative this store faced was its location. The store was located on the north side of downtown Binghamton, an area which you tell feels depressed economically. This likely drove a lot of traffic away with the exception of the people living in the area. Although it had loyal customers, (as there is really no other major store in the immediate area), it evidently was not making enough money to continue operating....or it was simply losing money....

This store is closing December 11, 2016 as part of the latest wave of closures. It will leave the north side of Binghamton without any place to buy basic grocery items and will make the plaza that it anchors almost entirely empty. This store had helped to provide the basics for lower income people in the area it served making it rather busy at times, despite the obvious feeling of being in a bad area of town, It had issues as most stores do such as floor that felt like they may be shifting, but it overall felt like it was holding its own.



Footnotes:
1. The other Kmart that was in the area in Endicott closed due to flood damage. This store too was           also a former Grandway. The next closest store to the Binghamton area is in Sayre, PA which is           about 46 minutes away to the southwest. A blog post featuring that store will come at some point       next year.

The Last of the Medley Centre Closed

The last remaining store at the now former Medley Centre is now closed, leaving the former mall completely empty. Sears operated out of this dead mall right up until mid-July of this year. I happened to catch a glimpse of liquidation sale with just 4 days left. Here's a look at the pictures I managed to get from that browsing:

Going into the store itself, the majority of clothing has been bought leaving the upstairs mostly empty.

Obvious old mall entrance.

Heading downstairs

So what happens to the mall now? Only time will tell. If there is one positive thing about this particular Sears closing, it is that at least it should make any redevelopment of this property a lot easier.