Bluelight News Flash: A New Year Brings Massive New Closings

In a rather unfortunate turn of events, admittedly though not surprising, a massive new list of closures for both Sears and Kmart has surfaced this morning. I've deleted the last post I did on this topic to incorporate all the new closings and previous announced ones together. I honestly was not imagining a 30 store wave turning into a 150 wave. This will leave Sears Holdings with under 1,273 stores total.

It also worth noting that Sears has sold one their best assets, Craftsman, to Stanley Black and Decker. 2017 may be Sears' last year if things continue like this and we aren't even a week into the year.

Kmart:
Jasper, AL
Phenix City, AL
Bakersfield, CA
Coalinga, CA
Kingsburg, CA
Riverside, CA (Iowa Ave)
Denver, CO (S Broadway)
Grand Junction, CO
Cromwell, CT
Columbus, GA
Cornelia, GA
Kingsland, GA
Savannah, GA
Crystal River, FL
Fort Myers, FL
Fort Pierce, FL
Jacksonville, FL
Kissimmee, FL
Naples, FL
Palatka, FL
Port Charlotte, FL
Sarasota, FL
Honolulu, HI (Salt Lake Blvd)
Dubuque, IA
Sioux City, IA
Waterloo, IA
Alton, IL
Granite City, IL
Chesterton, IN
La Porte, IN
Leavenworth, KS
Wichita, KS
Bowling Green, KY
Corbin, KY
Georgetown, KY
Hopkinsville, KY
London, KY
Louisville, KY
Owensboro, KY
Gonzales, LA
New Orleans, LA (S Clearview Pkwy)
Fairhaven, MA
South Attleboro, MA
Dundalk, MD
Bangor, ME
Garden City, MI
Jackson, MI
Adrian, MI
Muskegon, MI
Plymouth, MI
Roseville, MI
Waterford, MI
Westland, MI
Acme Township, MI
Detroit Lakes, MN
Branson, MO
Jefferson City, MO
Rolla, MO
Springfield, MO
St Louis, MO (Manchester Ave)
Concord, NC
Fayetteville, NC
Goldsboro, NC
Madison, NC
Wilmington, NC (College Rd)
Clementon, NJ
East Brunswick, NJ
Pleasantville, NJ
Rio Grande, NJ
New Hartford, NY
Henderson, NV
Mount Vernon, OH
Gallipolis, OH
Kenton, OH
New Boston, OH
Reynoldsburg, OH
St. Clairsville, OH
Zanesville, OH
Muskogee, OK
Dubois, PA
Erie, PA (Grandview Blvd)
Lancaster, PA
Mechanicsburg, PA
Monroeville, PA
Mt. Pleasant, PA
Anderson, SC
Greenwood, SC
North Charleston, SC
Sioux Falls, SD
Morristown, TN
El Paso, TX (Mc Rae Blvd)
El Paso, TX (Dyer St)
Killeen, TX
Lufkin, TX
Vernal, UT
Layton, UT
Roanoke, VA (Hershberger Rd)
Fredericksburg, VA
Norfolk, VA 
Salem, VA
Platteville, WI
Racine, WI
Tacoma, WA
Elkins, WV
South Parkersburg, WV
Weirton, WV
Cheyenne, WY

Sears:
Florence, AL
Jonesboro, AR
Enfield, CT
Lakes Wales, FL
Albany, GA
Columbus, GA
Kokomo, IN
Salina, KS
Paducah, KY
Baton Rouge, LA
Grand Rapids, MI
Jefferson City, MO
Saint Joseph, MO
Fargo, ND
Roswell, NM
Akron, OH
Chillicothe, OH
Lancaster, OH
Richmond Heights, OH
Lawton, OK
Tulsa, OK
Swansea, MA
Augusta, ME
Amherst, NY
Cheektowaga, NY
Hicksville, NY
Middletown, NY
Rego Park, NY
Camp Hill, PA
Hermitage, PA
Selinsgrove, PA
Uniontown, PA
Woonsocket. RI
Florence, SC
Kingsport, TN
Odessa, TX
Bristol, VA
Lynnwood, WA
Bridgeport, WV
Charleston, WV

Not only that, but Macy's has also revealed it too plans to close stores. For the most part the closures don't overlap, but Hermitage, PA's Shenango Valley Mall (which falls into the Twin Tiers territory) is an unfortunate victim as both anchors are closing. I do not have any pictures of the mall at this time, so it is likely that you will not see any Sears or Macy's photos from this mall from me. The same applies for the two Sears stores closing around Buffalo. 

The timing of the events is bad as it is the middle of winter, and a lot of these closures would involve me having to travel through lake effect areas to get to the destination. Therefore, I cannot guarantee I'll be able to grab pictures of any closing store on this list in my area. 

Kmart #7134

This month's look at a Kmart comes from the city that sits about halfway between Binghamton and Syracuse along I-81. This store was a former Grant City that previously anchored the Cortlandville Mall. It nows serves as an anchor to the Cortlandville Crossings plaza.

That brown building in the background is a Walmart. Competition is so close here!

Pharmacy labelscar.

Garden Shop is on the right far corner side of the building, so this store gets two exterior garden shop signs. And in white at that!

Former PENSKE

Neon Western Union Sign

Now to go inside starting with the entryway and Little Caesars in the former Grants' restaurant space:

Now for the store itself:

Obvious former pharmacy.

Grocery

Layaway

Garden Shop

Interesting the recyclables area has a second drop ceiling.

Checkout Drop Ceiling. I absolutely love this effect.

As always, thanks for stopping by!

Rating:  9 out of 10.
This store is honestly near perfect. It always seems to have a decent number of customers and you can tell it is taken care of. It even has a Little Caesars in operation. The only thing that could be better is if this store were to get a new decor package.

In Danger of Closing?  Hard to tell, especially as Sears Holdings becomes more desperate in 2017. Doesn't matter how well a store may appear to be doing, sometimes it will close just because corporate says to. This will likely survive a little longer.

The 'Tops'y Turvy Decor

Perhaps the rarest Tops decor nowadays is the package that I like to call 'Topsy Turvy.' And while that is not it's official name, it is definitely no longer used in any new stores. The reason I call it that is because there are some very unique and awesome decor choices. There's giant cereal boxes, banners, giant letters, and of course the all important Top shaped aisle sign.

This Tops location, which was Tops' first store out of New York state (also Tops' first Pennsylvania location), features this decor which is indeed kind of funky. This Tops was also built when Tops was still a part of Ahold, so evidently Ahold did have a Tops-specific decor package.

Night time shot.

While foods may be fresh here at this store, some Tops locations lack this signage, so does that mean foods at those stores aren't fresh? I don't exactly understand the point of signs like this. Since this is a supermarket, your foods better be fresh!

Always happy to see some local pride in a store.

Customer Services sits in between two entrances/exits to or from the entryway vestibule. Many Tops stores typically just use one.

The left side of the store is the cafe (out of frame to the left, picture below) followed by the deli and speciality foods (such as cheese). Floral occupies the back left corner. Produce and natural foods take the majority of the space.

Natural foods.

Seafood

Meats

Look at those giant cereal boxes!

Frozen Foods, Dairy, Bread and other baked goods occupy the right side of the stores.

Candy is the only other thing located in the right corner of the stores before the checkout lanes start.