Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

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pseudo3d
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by pseudo3d »

14500 Plank Road in Baker, Louisiana seems to be missing. I can't find proof positive it was a Kmart beyond references to Kmart Plaza, but it was discussed here (on Groceteria) as being closed in the early 1990s (as Kmart). It ended up becoming one of the stranger Albertsons out there (along with another now-defunct store in Florida) when it was redeveloped as such (new facade but kept the old ridged concrete).

https://www.loopnet.com/property/14500- ... -03622673/
reschultzed
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by reschultzed »

Thanks, pseudo3d! Through the online archives of the Baton Rouge Advocate, I was able to find that there was indeed a Kmart store there, which opened in April 1981 and closed in December 1990, at the same time as another previously unknown-to-me store at 2040 Church Street, Zachary, Louisiana. Those archives are deliberately hard to use for free, so maybe someone else can track down more information about the Zachary store.
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47of74
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

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reschultzed wrote: 31 Jan 2020 19:17 Hi there, I've been working on this spreadsheet of Kmart locations for over a year now. Combining existing store lists with information found in old newspapers, retail directories both on- and offline, and local, state and federal government databases, I've been able to pull together this list of 3,098 current and former Kmart stores. This list is intended to be totally comprehensive, containing every Kmart store that has ever existed since the brand was created in 1962, and I think it's getting very close to that goal. However, there are probably still a few stores missing from the list entirely, and hundreds of the stores that are already there are missing opening and closing dates, square footage, and more. Please feel free to use this data however you want, and don't hesitate to reach out to me with a comment if you can fill in any gaps or spot any inaccuracies. Thanks!

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/ ... RLD7g/edit
Thank you very much for posting this. I saw my old local K-Mart (4018, Dubuque, Iowa) in the list. It was remodeled a few times and I believe it was expanded too over time. It was the first Kmart in the state of Iowa. I believe it was open in 1962 though, not 1963 as listed in the sheet. After it closed the eastern part of it was used to house a new VA clinic while the western part is now a Joann fabric store. The part in the middle is still vacant.

I also saw you had the Platteville, Wisconsin Kmart in the list - both the original and "new" location. We would go up to that Kmart occasionally if we were up in the area but since Dubuque was a lot closer and had more selection that wasn't too often. I remember the Platteville store had awesome setups there for the early 80s video game systems (Atari, Intellevison, etc). The original Platteville Kmart opened in 1981 and was there until 1993 when they build a new expanded store a few hundred feet to the south after the motel built a new property and moved. The original store sat vacant until 2004 when Ashley Homestore took it over and I think U-Haul took over the "new" store and turned it into a self storage / customer service center.
rich
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by rich »

21000 Libby Road in Maple Heights, Ohio was a former full-line Sears

Broadview/Lindberg in Atlanta was a former GC Murphy---a relatively small store, probably 60K or less

Both were two-story locations
Super S
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by Super S »

This might have been discussed on here before (or at Retailwatchers), however, I can't seem to find where, if it was at all.

I understand that the first one or two digits in Kmart store numbers indicated to some extent the type and/or size of building it was. I was wondering if anybody has some kind of guide to what this indicated...it seems like most of the 4XXX numbers were among the first locations (the first store in Garden City was #4000), 3XXX were mainly 1970s-1980s era stores, but there were a handful of exceptions for the time periods with both of those. 7XXX and 9XXX numbers I don't understand. If anybody has a better guide it would be appreciated so we have a better understanding since these are not in numerical order and would be a great tool to complement this list.
reschultzed
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by reschultzed »

Great question. When Kresge began opening Kmart stores in 1962, they were issued store numbers beginning with 4000, while the company's other new venture, Jupiter Discount Stores, was given store numbers beginning with 4500. (I guess they thought that someday, they might have 3,999 Kresge five-and-dime stores.) By the early 1970s, almost all of the numbers between 4000 and 4499 had been used up, and the company was beginning to open differently-sized stores in different formats. Starting in 1972, new "normal"-sized stores, typically about 84,000-95,000 square feet, were given numbers beginning with 3000, and these stores became known as "Group 3" Kmarts. That same year, the company first introduced the "mini" Kmart format of about 64,000 square feet, designed for smaller towns that couldn't support a larger store, which became known as "Group 7" and were given numbers beginning with 7000. An even smaller Kmart format, Group 9, was introduced in 1974, with only 40,000 square feet, generally for towns with a population under 20,000. An expanded version of Group 9 was introduced in 1977, of stores about 55,000 square feet, which was given numbers beginning with 9500. (Canadian Kmart stores, which I have a separate list for, only ever received numbers between 5400 and 5550.) Over time, many of these stores were expanded and the distinctions between the groups became blurred. Since the company never opened more than 200 Jupiter Discount Stores before abandoning the chain in the late 1980s, many of the new stores opened in the early 1990s were given numbers between 4700 and 4999. Most Super Kmart Centers were 49xx, for example. Here's a chart I was able to whip up using the spreadsheet data showing what groups were assigned when. If you have any further questions, I'd be happy to try to answer them.

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Super S
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by Super S »

Thank you. That is very helpful. Another thing I have noticed is that a good portion of the Group 3 stores (3XXX), at least through the late 1970s, almost always featured a lower ceiling. However, this was not limited to that series. One I know of was in Spanaway, WA, store 7904, which opened in 1984. This store had the lower ceiling, but instead of the typical exposed strip lights, it had recessed 8 foot fluorescent fixtures which were common in most of the 1990s build stores, which had higher ceilings.
pseudo3d
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by pseudo3d »

I think I had seen somewhere that 4000 was for early 1970s stores, and was perplexed when I found 4xxx stores that were clearly from 1990s. Of all the retail and restaurant companies, I think Kmart's makes one of the least sense.
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rudyvalencia
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by rudyvalencia »

Kmart #4347 (Greeley, CO) closed 10/15/1994, the day before its Super Kmart replacement opened (#4934, 10/16/1994 - 9/28/2008). The original Kmart store was demolished in 2007 and the local police station was built on the site.

Source: I remember the date for the transition to Super Kmart and the closing date came from the Greeley Tribune.
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nysw3636
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by nysw3636 »

Camillus, NY (Camillus Mall) closed April 29, 1998.
pseudo3d
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by pseudo3d »

I'll have to look it up again, but I'm pretty sure that for American Fare, the store was closed and renovated into a traditional Kmart, while the grocery side became Cub Foods (which operated in Georgia under a franchise). I'm not sure when they closed. An article I found mentioned the GA Cub Foods wound down business by the end of 2001, but the Stone Mountain store may have closed earlier.
retailfanmitchell019
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by retailfanmitchell019 »

Kmart history in Northern San Diego County:
Escondido 620 West Mission Avenue/Grant Street. Opened May 2, 1968 and closed 2003. Currently Lowe's.
Oceanside 1547 Mission Avenue. Opened May 18, 1972 and closed January 1996. Currently El Super.
Oceanside 443 College Boulevard. Opened November 25, 1991 and closed 2014. Currently Target.
Poway 13644 Poway Road. Opened July 23, 1981, with unknown date of closure. Currently subdivided between Ross and HomeGoods.
Ramona 1855 Main Street. Opened February 25, 1991 and closed September 2020. Currently vacant.
San Diego 12080 Carmel Mountain Road. Opened in 1993 and closed 2005. Currently At Home.
Solana Beach 685 San Rodolfo Drive. Opened May 4, 1977 and closed August 3, 1983. Currently Staples.
Vista 650 Sycamore Ave. Opened September 7, 1978 and closed May 1996. Currently Burlington Coat Factory.
Super S
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by Super S »

Last year I spent some time in Lynnwood, WA and came across a store that looked like it was a former Kmart, but is not on the list. It was (and maybe still is) a Best Buy Outlet. It is in the Lynnwood Square shopping center.

The address is 19800 44th Ave W. (196th St. & 44th Ave)

A few things hint specifically as a former Kmart:

The lighting placement inside the Best Buy Outlet, typical of many Kmarts.

The parking lot lights, typical of many Kmarts.

A road sign along 196th St. The top sign specifically is in a shape that I have seen used at a number of other Kmart locations. From the Google Street view It has been used by both Grocery Outlet and Sports Authority.

What is odd though are the signs along 44th. There is a large sign that looks like it rotated, a Google street view shows Grocery Outlet and Sports Authority used this sign, but both were on a stationary sign nearby as well. Neither one of these hint at Kmart, but the rotating sign almost looks like an old Kinney Shoes sign. Perhaps Kinney had an old building where the McDonald's sits?

If this was not a Kmart, I am curious to know what was originally in the Best Buy Outlet space.
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Groceteria
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by Groceteria »

Super S wrote: 01 Oct 2024 12:03If this was not a Kmart, I am curious to know what was originally in the Best Buy Outlet space.
A quick glance at newspaper archives suggests a House of Values (later branded Payless) that opened in 1969. It was apparently big enough that appliances, etc. were sold. I'll see if I can find more when I have a little more time.

The revolving sign on 44th looks like maybe Lucky Stores to me, but I'm not sure about that.
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Re: Comprehensive list of Kmart locations

Post by pseudo3d »

I sent reschultzed a PM regarding the history of a local Kmart, there is some debate whether it expanded into the adjacent supermarket or not. (Not Kmart Foods, but functioned as one with the same building and facade).

It did in fact knock out the wall and expand.
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