After 13 years in business, the full-line Sears store in Lawrence will close its doors.
The local store, at 2727 Iowa, is one of 79 Sears and Kmart stores across the country that Sears Holding Corp. slated for closure on Thursday. The announcement came two days after the company said a slow holiday season and other economic factors would force the closure of 100 to 120 stores across the country.
Kimberly Freely, spokeswoman for Sears Holding Corp., said the company closed stores in underperforming locations. The closing dates haven’t been set and would depend on liquidation needs, city regulations and lease dates.
Officials at the Lawrence Sears store wouldn’t comment.
On Thursday evening, the parking lot in front of Sears had about a dozen cars and customers were still filtering in and out.
Tracy Ewy had come from Eudora to shop for appliances and was disappointed to hear the store was closing.
“I don’t shop here a lot. But it’s nice having choices for appliances. There are not a lot of options in Lawrence,” she said.
The Lawrence store is the only one in Kansas selected to close. Another Sears store in Lee’s Summit, Mo., was on the list. No Kmarts in the region were selected.
As for the employees, Freely said those who qualify would be offered severance packages. And, closer to the closing date, workers will be notified of job openings in nearby Sears and Kmart stores, although they would have to apply for those jobs.
Sears, in one form or another, has a lengthy history in Lawrence.
In 1965, a Sears catalog store moved from 13 E. Ninth St. to a new 10,000-square-foot store at the Hillcrest Shopping Center at Ninth and Iowa. In 1993, that store closed along with 100 other Sears catalog and small retail stores.
A year later, a new Sears appliance, electronics and lawn and garden store opened at 2108 W. 27th St. That store closed when the full-line Sears opened in 1998 at its current location.
The 60,000-square-foot building, which is leased by Sears, once housed the city’s first Walmart and later a Half-Price Store. Six years after it opened, the store underwent a $405,000 remodel.
Kelly Whitehouse, who visits the Lawrence store six to eight times a year, wasn’t happy with the news.
“We use it for tools and appliances. It’s a convenience. That is the bad thing,” Whitehouse said.
Thursday evening was probably the first time Jerree Catlin had visited the store in Lawrence. She was with her husband searching for a Nordic Track.
“Still, I hate to see anything like this move out of town,” Catlin said.
Even those who were sad to see it go said they weren’t surprised by the news, commenting that the store often doesn’t appear to be busy.
“When I come here there are not always a lot of cars,” Ewy said.
Comments
00jester 1 year, 4 months ago
SALE TIME!
anonyname 1 year, 4 months ago
...if you can find anything worth buying. Good luck.
cato_the_elder 1 year, 4 months ago
Brownback must have ordered this.
DillonBarnes 1 year, 4 months ago
No surprise here, that store is usually pretty empty.
LarryNative 1 year, 4 months ago
I met the person who was over-seeing the Sears building project 13 yrs ago while shopping at Kiefs. I asked how Sears ever thought that place would make it in Lawrence. He told me Sears fully expected to lose money but opening stores at a rapid pace was more important to show stores openings and the brand growing.
I also asked what he thought of our downtown 13 yrs ago. He said in 10yrs, it would be an entertainment district full of bars, restaurants and second hand stores. He nailed it. I wish I would have kept his business card.
pizzapete 1 year, 4 months ago
Well 13 years ago downtown already was an entertainment district full of bars, resaurants, and second hand stores. He would have nailed it if he said there would be highrise apartments and nowhere to park.
LMH 1 year, 4 months ago
Too bad - I like Sears and shop there often. But as it was already pointed out, the place is a ghost town most of the time... Sorry to hear they'll be closing, mostly because of the folks who work there. Tough times to be looking for a job.
TikiLee 1 year, 4 months ago
Bummer. I always buy appliances from Sears, I have forever. Now I guess I'll do it online, or go to the one in Ottawa.
Kansashawk 1 year, 4 months ago
Or u could shop at a locally owned store?
littlexav 1 year, 4 months ago
Amen.
Curtis Lange 1 year, 4 months ago
The Sears in Ottawa is a joke. Bought a grill there last year since it was in stock there but not the Lawrence store (go figure). There was an hour or so until they closed and the guy didn't want to get it for me because 'we close soon and it is buried back there.' Definitely one of the worst customer service experiences I've ever had anywhere.
happypill4014 1 year, 4 months ago
I live in Ottawa and will never again buy something from the Sears here after a similar experience. We bought a VERY expensive fridge after mine died....I paid cash at 4:45 PM and was told they would deliver for free. When I asked what time to expect them with my fridge, he told me that they would charge $50.00 to take it to my house, which was literally less than 10 blocks away. I told them no and my husband would come with the truck and get it. At 4:50, he told me if my husband didn't show up in the next 5 minutes, they were closing and I could wait until Monday for my fridge. If I hadn't already paid for the damn thing, I would of told him to kiss it and bought my fridge somewhere else. They were rude and downright disrespectful. I haven't been back.
NavyVet 1 year, 4 months ago
bigazz SEARS in Topeka, too
BruceWayne 1 year, 4 months ago
It is also sad that there will be another empty building in town. Speaking of, does anyone know what happened to Waterfront on east 23rd? Went out there last night to get a spa filter and it is gone. The building and parking lot empty, and the sign is gone.
roggy 1 year, 4 months ago
Waterfront moved to Wakarusa St. but I don't know the new address.
ctsixer 1 year, 4 months ago
As stated previously, Waterfront moved to Wakarusa between Clinton Nursery and the car wash. The address is 4910 Wakarusa Ct., Ste C.
otto 1 year, 4 months ago
They are moving -- they are in the process of building out a space off of Wakarusa drive. It is between Clinton parkway nursery and the car wash to the north. Sorry don't have the exact address right now. They should be open in 1 to 2 weeks is what they told me. Call them - they are still trying to do service and parts.
CLARKKENT 1 year, 4 months ago
GOOD LUCK GETTING ANY SERVICE OUT OF WATERFRONT.......
DRsmith 1 year, 4 months ago
Too bad. Sears in Lawrence probably would have survived if it were in a mall.
50YearResident 1 year, 4 months ago
You are right. The location killed them and Penneys will be next. It is the fault of the Lawrence planning commission. The planners vetoed a southern mall just south of the south trafficway and on the east side of 59 Hy.
buckjennings 1 year, 4 months ago
Oh yes, because malls have just done so peachy over the years. Look at the thriving malls in Kansas City like Bannister, Indian Springs, Metro North, Metcalf South, etc.
grammaddy 1 year, 4 months ago
Look what has happened to downtown Topeka since Westridge Mall and the rest of that mess on Wanamaker. Growing up there, downtown was like ours is now.
littlexav 1 year, 4 months ago
White Lakes in Topeka... freaking ghost town.
Wallythewalrus 1 year, 4 months ago
The building is not up to fire code requirements. That was why the DMV had to move out. And after Wilson signed a 5 year extension. What an idiot he was.
bhall87 1 year, 4 months ago
Um, Riverfront and Tanger. Lawrence had malls--not traditional malls like Oak Park or Westridge--and they failed miserably and are now sitting mostly empty in good locations (Downtown and near an I-70 exit). I think Sears would've done better if was located further south on Iowa or in a strip mall location like Bed, Bath & Beyond/TJ Maxx/Michaels/World Market.
I typically see more cars in Penny's parking lot in one day than Sears parking lot in a full week. I actually know people who shop at Penny's but no one who shops at Sears.
misterlee 1 year, 4 months ago
Malls are dying all across the country as they have become crime centers and places for kids to hang out. Few, if any, major retailers are interested in being in a mall. Sorry you didn't get the memo.
The only malls being build now are the giant mega-malls like the Great Mall of the Great Plains, and Lawrence isn't big enough to support something like that.
What will kill the big box stores on south Iowa Street is online shopping. Everything's in stock, and they deliver.
happypill4014 1 year, 4 months ago
The "Great" Mall is empty...and it sucks! The only thing that they have been able to keep is Group USA, which would probably thrive in a stand alone location. Like above posters have mentioned, kids with too much time and no supervision hang out there....Not a good combination.
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
Wondered how long it would take the J/W. There was news of that closing among "inside circles'' over 4 days ago.
Could Olive Garden fit in that building and Red Lobster as well?
MarcoPogo 1 year, 4 months ago
If only we could all run among the "inside circles". Such Dickensian street urchins, we are.
buckjennings 1 year, 4 months ago
Only classy people eat at such fine eatin' joints as Olive Garden and Red Lobster.
richard904 1 year, 4 months ago
Olive Garden and Red Lobster serve a real purpose in the mid-west. Look at the parking lot of the Olive Garden at 119th Street and Black Bob in Overland Park. It is busy and the food (mid-level Italian) is acceptable to a wide demographic. Where do you get decent fish dishes in this area? You can get fresh New England lobsters. What can anyone do to steamed lobster? I would guess if Olive Garden and/or Red Lobster come to the Lawrence area, there is more than sufficient demographics to indicate that they would do well. These chains fit in when there is absolutely nothing decent in Italian or fish restaurants, and they will get customers. Their business offices have the MBA's that can crunch the numbers and give good probabilities on customer base.
peartree 1 year, 4 months ago
Darn it! I hate it when news organizations let "fact checking" get in the way of publishing rumors. You could start your own blog if you are well-connected in Larryville. You could be the Lawrence's Perez Hilton! :)
merrill 1 year, 4 months ago
Kmart, founded as S.S. Kresge in Detroit in 1899, has long been strong in clothing and home accessories, and in recent years has added brands such as Thalia Sodi, Jaclyn Smith, Joe Boxer and Martha Stewart Everyday products.
Sears, which started selling watches through catalogs in 1886, later became best known for its Craftsman tools and Kenmore appliances.
"with the goal of converting their customer experience into a world-class integrated retail experience.”
Sounds like BS to me...because
"Here’s the long and the short of it as we see it – the acquisition will work for the deal-makers in the short term. Lambert especially stands to make a lot of money by squeezing costs from the joint company. And yet more money by converting and selling stores. And yet more money by moving Kmart brands to Sears stores.
But don’t count on the company prospering in the long term. For Lambert isn’t an operating guy. He’s not about to solve the systemic problem causing declining sales in both Kmart and Sears stores. He’s not about to do battle. He’s not about to find a solution to shoppers’ confusion about the meaning of both brands – Kmart and Sears."
Curtis Lange 1 year, 4 months ago
That 'confusion' is one reason a lot of the Sears Grand stores were/are being converted back to Kmart stores. People had no idea what the store was...is it a Sears store or a Kmart store?
To the poster asking about the Kmart Distribution Center: I don't see it going anywhere in the near future.
merrill 1 year, 4 months ago
Appliances:
Stoneback's ( Next door to The Merc) 925 Iowa St # A Lawrence (785) 843-4170
Craftsman Tools: Westlake Hardware
Kenmore Appliances - Sears Metcalf
Then again mergers and acqusitions took the Maytag name to the dump. The same could happen to the Kenmore name.
KS 1 year, 4 months ago
Merrill - You know where the Sears store is in Johnson County? OMG!
The_Big_B 1 year, 4 months ago
RE: Maytag ... No kidding. They used to be built like tanks. I made the mistake of buying a Maytag dryer, and didn't research, but just bought based on the name. The name now translates to "just one more piece of Chinese junk".
Take_a_letter_Maria 1 year, 4 months ago
It might be interesting to see what the stance is on the K-Mart distribution center now that the company has no other presence in town.
just_another_bozo_on_this_bus 1 year, 4 months ago
It distributes to stores across a wide region, not just Lawrence. As long as they still need that amount of distribution, it likely will have no effect on that center.
Take_a_letter_Maria 1 year, 4 months ago
I realize that, but there was some clamor a couple of years back about closing this center.
For the people that work there, I hope you are right.
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
It looks fairly good at the moment. Ocala and Greensboro might have some re alining to do. There is a turnaround of driving time for deliveries.
The list is still not out for remaining Kmart Stores. Lawrence could drop 10 and still survive with perhaps, fewer shifts.
The Lawrence center could end up with lateral moves for management. The morale is bad and as long as even the Dist centers continue the same mode of operation as stores have done for the past two decades, in the end run could very well be bye bye JC Penney's, bye bye Sears and Kmart and hello to Dollar General, 99c stores, Family Dollar and Walmart and Walmart Neighborhood Grocery stores.
Kmart tried food because the shareholders allowed the BOD to bring in former food store execs. Kmart had a chance of a turnaround when Perkins became the CEO. But he had too much outside interference from the BOD and their cronies.
Good luck to the Lawrence Dist Center but just keep your fingers crossed you don't lose more than 10 stores at most and be prepared for a shift realignment.
FlawontheKaw 1 year, 4 months ago
No need to worry Wil. KM and Sears are two of the big "job creators" right?...er...well...umm...NOT.
Piggles 1 year, 4 months ago
Guess will have to go to Topeka and KC to do my shopping.... nothing here in Lawrence no more. No K-Marts and now no Sears? Walmarts sucks, Target has nothing... Penney's ok but can find MORE stuff and variety in Topeka and KC. ANd then city people wonder why no shopping in Lawrence??? Why? There's NOTHING......
parrothead8 1 year, 4 months ago
Wait...you can find MORE stuff and variety in bigger towns? No way!
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
Don Perkins was a food guy from Jewel. Premise was that food turnsover faster than dry goods, for example. Then Floyd Hall was picked, a Target guy.
Kmart would have been better to put Don Keeble VP of stores in charge of Kmart stores and the corporation.
Both Perkins and Hall were fine people but the BOD was too busy driving Cadillacs , buying fancy shoes, and that expensive hdqtrs in Troy. Even at one point there was a plan to move the corporate hdgtrs right back into Downtown Detroit. But the mentality of the BOD would not allow it as it wasn't fancy enough. Anyhoo... time passed and Walmart just chugged right along. Sell a product for $1.19 maybe 8oz product. Kmart has same brand 10oz for 1.29 but the customer sees the $1.19 and buys it because it is less money.
Dollar Store concept. Go into store and take $10.00 and walk out with 10 things. Now Dollar store is$1.25.
Anyone noticed that Dillons, Checkers, Aldi all have products for $1.00 . It is all about price , not necessarlly quantity. Watch for Target next to make store closings.
Piggles should realize that even if a retailer wanted to come to Lawrence now and there was population to support the store(i.e. the trade area), the Lawrence City Hall Planning and Development will run them off.
Lawrence is being run by the staff at City Hall instead of the Commissioners taking charge.
Lawrence needs a good CEO and a new Board of Directors to kick some b&&%^tt at City Hall and clean house.
The staff works for the taxpayers, not what is going on now.
TheBigW 1 year, 4 months ago
(quote) Lawrence is being run by the staff at City Hall instead of the Commissioners taking charge. Lawrence needs a good CEO and a new Board of Directors to kick some b&&%^tt at City Hall and clean house. The staff works for the taxpayers, not what is going on now. (quote)
That is the truth! And that is the main reason why someone like me, who wishes to open a business here has had to resort to calling the fed's in to enforce the federal laws because the city hall staff operates just like your talking about and the commissioners can't be bothered to do their own research or read the federal statutes to fully understand where the problem is with the advice they are being given to them by not only city staff by hired consultants as well.
buckjennings 1 year, 4 months ago
Yes because government should be run like a big business like Enron. No, wait-- bad example. Government should be run like Lehman Brothers. Er, no, that's not it either.
oletimer 1 year, 4 months ago
Count Sears as another victim of wally world. When you can tell your suppliers what you are going to pay well of course you can sell cheaper. Wally has been doing this for years and getting away with it because they use their "influence" on suppliers. When the day comes that wally is the only dog in the park, and it will happen, watch the prices go up then.
Pywacket 1 year, 4 months ago
I hate WalMart and agree with much of what you say.... HOWEVER--Sears has been in trouble since the late 70s! I'm really surprised they have survived this long in any form, as badly as they have been mismanaged. I worked there for a time and, even though I was quite young, I could see the writing on the wall.
That they have made it into the 21st century at all is testimony to how successful their founders were at establishing the store and building incredible loyalty. Among my parents' generation, there is still a lot of regard--most of it based on nostalgia rather than anything solid...
If they had not been as big as they were, they'd have succumbed by 1995 if not sooner. They've been a fuddyduddy anachronism for decades. About the only reason to go there is the appliances--and those can be obtained elsewhere easily enough. Clothes or shoes? Puh-leeze!
buckjennings 1 year, 4 months ago
Sears has been its own worst enemy. First it was hubris-- the outrageous arrogance to think that you are untouchable which leads big companies to build giant monuments to themselves (like the Sears Tower) and to start dabbling in businesses outside of its "core competency." Over the past decade the only real income that Sears and Kmart have realized has been from selling real estate. This latest round of closings is just another way to offload real estate that is likely to sell for quick cash. The Kmart in Salina isn't closing despite being in a completely dead part of town simply because there are many empty buildings in that area and Sears is not likely to find a buyer for that aging facility.
08Champs 1 year, 4 months ago
Steinmart would be great in that space -
08Champs 1 year, 4 months ago
Why is that funny?
08Champs 1 year, 4 months ago
Obviously I"ve been to one or I wouldn't have suggested it.... joke of a comment actually.
Catsap 1 year, 4 months ago
Former Manhattan Mayor Bruce Snerd, at the City Commission's passing of the NBAF plat, Sept. 2011:
"There are reasons people choose Manhattan over Topeka & Lawrence."
I thought he meant folks having a death wish; it seems now that Sears, KMart & Hastings are instead the big draw . . .
greenworld 1 year, 4 months ago
Sears needed to close. Everytime we were in there , there warranties that they quote are 5-10 times more than any other place and I hardly ever got waited on. Thats no good and bad customer service. Within the last 1-5 years we have bought a brand new dishwasher and washer and dryer and went to Neb Furn Mart. Sorry Sears but you guys got played
dstavin 1 year, 4 months ago
I buy appliances at Stoneback Appliances here in Lawrence.
TheSychophant 1 year, 4 months ago
Ditto. They sell quality stuff, are competitive with the chains, will give you a better price than listed if you ask, employ all local folks, and are locally owned and operated. Buy a Kenmore and your money is out of town before you walk out the door. And by the way, Stonebacks is not going anywhere anytime soon. They have a loyal customer base and survive with repeat customers and volume sales. I can't imagine why anyone would go elsewhere for an appliance unless its a high dollar speciality item which they don't stock.
cato_the_elder 1 year, 4 months ago
Ditto the Ditto.
WilburM 1 year, 4 months ago
Likewise. Thirty years of first-class service from Stoneback's. Fair (even good) prices, service, and locally owned. I'm a big fan.
IgnorantYokel 1 year, 4 months ago
In the Internet age, box retail stores are merely showrooms for online shoppers who can buy the item for cheaper (often with free shipping and no sales tax).
srj 1 year, 4 months ago
Office Depot is next. Stock dropped 60% this year and 94% from it's all time high five years ago.
average 1 year, 4 months ago
There is actually one read on this that isn't quite as sackcloth and ashes. In part, the hedge-fund twerps running things are trying to extract value via targeted property sales.
http://www.businessinsider.com/sears-holding-liquidation-sale-hempton-2011-12
The Lawrence store looks (not for sure) like it might be held by a Sears property trust. While the two Topeka ghost-town Kmarts are not (leased).
If the Lawrence location looks more salable/leasable than properties in regions far more blighted with overbuilt retail vacancies (and that's most of the country, honestly), it may have played into the equation to close this location. Mind you, if they were doing gangbuster business, they wouldn't close, but on the line it might have been a factor.
merrill 1 year, 4 months ago
Too much retail for a small town to support. Why the Chamber of Commerce believes or ever believed that people would drive from everywhere to shop Lawrence is astounding. Lawrence,Kansas has been surrounded by retail shopping forever within a reasonable distance.
The answers and perhaps the rule of thumb would have been in retail impact studies and a Cost of Community Services Study. For some reason these Chamber thinkers always think they just know something as yet the community is still in the dark.
Retail failures in the form of Riverfront Plaza, Tanger Mall and 6th and Waakrusa should have sent red flags up all over the town instead city hall and tunnel vision kept following the Chamber vision of helter skelter aimless growth at any cost to the taxpayers which has produced economic displacement NOT economic growth.
Not even national giants can withstand economic displacement for years and years. Talbots left town as well. Borders is gone. Old Navy is gone.
roadwarrior 1 year, 4 months ago
I heartily agree with that statement. In addition...this endless raising of taxes which gives even less disposable income to supporting our retail community........and for what ? a library face lift and garage ??? It is astounding to me...one would think amid this massive exodus of retail business amid so much empty real estate that someone might be saying...we have a problem with our focus.
Yeoman2 1 year, 4 months ago
I have said it time and again. We are buying cheap Chinese crap, you know, the sutff you use for a few days and throw away. We are selling the country to the Chinese and putting ourselves over a barrel. Soon, we will be looking down the barrel with the ChiComs holding the trigger. I hope I am not around when the order comes down from Bejing for all former Americans to learn Mandarin.
Ockhams_Razor 1 year, 4 months ago
They won't hold the trigger, they will hold the mortgage. We borrow $250 billion per year from them, nearly a billion dollar per working day.
FlawontheKaw 1 year, 4 months ago
And it is our own US dollars we are borrowing back too right? Maybe they should just open up their own Federal Reserve Bank and do all the printing too. Or perhaps they are already. I am sure their secret printing technology is just as sophisticated as any other country including the US. I knew that Confucius stuff was prophetic!
merrill 1 year, 4 months ago
Food for thought:
There is one consequence of helter skelter aimless growth that usually goes unmentioned by the local media,city hall and elected officials - local profiteers are draining our pocketbooks and raising our taxes.
NOT necessary city growth is the result of over several decades of subsidies paid for by the local taxpayer. These range from the obvious to the obscure and include big projects-like the billions we spend on new roads as well as smaller ones-like the tax-breaks that encourage businesses to move to the edge of town and KILL downtown.
We've subsidized local profiteers at such a basic level for so long, that many people believe the status quo is actually fair and neutral. This is false-what we think of as a level playing field is tilted steeply in favor of local profiteers driving development.
How we subsidize profiteers:
and David Cay Johnston then boggled the crowd with a blunt assertion: "We pay billions of dollars in taxes that never get to the government." Much of the sales tax we pay at big box stores and shopping centers is diverted to the large companies that own the stores. It's just one of the many swindles these chains have learned to perpetrate against city and county governments. This is so effective. "
snap_pop_no_crackle 1 year, 4 months ago
A habit obscene and unsavory Holds David Cay Johnson in slavery With lecherous hows He devours young owls That he keeps in an underground aviary
LogicMan 1 year, 4 months ago
What does the distribution center do with its scratch and dent, overstock, etc. stuff? Would converting this Sears into a K-Mart + Sears outlet center make sense? It's rent might be too high though.
merrill 1 year, 4 months ago
The Wall Street Journal said that some powers that be in the financial world are not impressed with the move to close 120 stores.
Which could mean the whole K-Mart/Sears merger deal is on the way down the tubes...
anonyname 1 year, 4 months ago
The merger was finalized a LONG time ago, Merrill.
KS 1 year, 4 months ago
Yes, and if I remember correctly, K-Mart bought Sears, not too long afetr K-Mart had declared bankruptcy. Go figure!
gl0ck0wn3r 1 year, 4 months ago
Don't confuse him with facts.
patkindle 1 year, 4 months ago
Most Lawrence folks are too smart or too cool to shop at sears (or any other local store)
It is a lot smarter and cooler to drive 30 or 50 miles, make all of Your purchases at a much lower prices
Plus get get to eat out, and are able to brag to your buddies about Your purchases
Our old home town used to have 3 new car dealerships Now they have none
The same folks that used to brag about driving out of town To buy their cars because of the money they saved. Are now whining about no place to get their car worked on
That’s the way it has always been That’s the way it will always be
FlintlockRifle 1 year, 4 months ago
Gosh when did Sears move from east 9th street?? Yes going to miss this store, like one of above posts never crowded and easy finding a parking space, plus in summer months you could go to the fruit and vegy tent
buckjennings 1 year, 4 months ago
Hey False-- was that you I saw dumping your used motor oil down in the Baker Wetlands a few days ago? Dang hippies all worried about frogs and Indians when they ought to be racing to JoCo to buy stuff at the mall like good 'Mericans.
MARGIE50 1 year, 4 months ago
Maybe the city could find another apartment complex to go into the Sears building,
FlawontheKaw 1 year, 4 months ago
:-) roflol
50YearResident 1 year, 4 months ago
History of Lawrence businesses that couldn't make it in Lawrence. 1) Riverfront Mall 2) North Lawrence Mall 3) FW Woolworth 4) Gibsons 5) Montgomery Wards 6) KMart 7) Sears 8) Johnson Furniture 9) Miller Furniture 10) Bud Jennings Carpet Many others I can't name at this time without some research.
TheSychophant 1 year, 4 months ago
Some of the stores you mention lasted a long time, and as far as the chains, they also went out of business in many other cities. What's your point?
Andini 1 year, 4 months ago
11) McDonalds Downtown location 12) Litwins 13) The Jay Shoppe 14) Round Corner Drug 15) Town Crier 16) Ice House 17) Sunflower Broadband
...hey! this is fun.
Andini 1 year, 4 months ago
18) Jim Clark Motors 19) Campbells 20) Arensbergs 21) Baskin-Robbins
Ockhams_Razor 1 year, 4 months ago
This comment was removed by the site staff for violation of the usage agreement.
Boston_Corbett 1 year, 4 months ago
The Pretentious Cow.
FlawontheKaw 1 year, 4 months ago
32)Cholera 33) Typhoid 34) Yellow Fever
Ockhams_Razor 1 year, 4 months ago
Campus Hideaway Mass Street Deli Sutherlands Lumber
MarcoPogo 1 year, 4 months ago
And yet, somehow the Barrel House continues to hang on...
jackbinkelman 1 year, 4 months ago
Ben Franklin, TG&Y, The Green Pepper, Mr. Steak, Sunset Drive-In.. The Great American Hot Dog, Some Ice Cream Shop at 10th & Mass..
artichokeheart 1 year, 4 months ago
What about Freeman's?
buckjennings 1 year, 4 months ago
Don't bother doing "research" since basic facts appear to elude you. Many of those stores were victims of Wal-Mart such as Gibson's. Monkey Wards was a badly-mismanaged company that was in the process of dying. The entire chain of Woolworth's went out of business nationally. Old time furniture stores have been slowly dying over the years thanks to places like Nebraska Furniture Mart, etc. Etc, etc.
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
cover the mom and pops as well. LItwins, Arensbergs, Davis Paint, Keeler's bookstore and framing, oh my head hurts just trying to recall them.
Lawrence does not have population to support many stores, it has only students and poor folks on SRS, the very rich do not even shop in Lawrence. They go to Town Center in Leawood and that is fact, jack!
You think even certain sports figures in town get their hairpiece in Lawrence? duh? no!
TheSychophant 1 year, 4 months ago
I haven't had anything to do with Sears since i was thirteen years old and enjoyed looking at the catalog pictures of women in underwear.
FlawontheKaw 1 year, 4 months ago
:-) Thanks thuja...so funny!
NavyVet 1 year, 4 months ago
Now that's funny
hear_me 1 year, 4 months ago
It wasn't hard to anticipate Sears' closure. Did anyone else notice that Ace Hardware is carrying Crafstman tools? I hope that works.
Andini 1 year, 4 months ago
If you buy Craftsman tools from Westlake you will not receive the lifetime warranties for replacements that Sears gives them. You'll only get 30 days or so if that.
I'll miss Sears. They've always treated me right even though it's some times hard to find someone to help you.
jackpot 1 year, 4 months ago
Take the broken tool to Sears in Topeka or O.P. for replacements.
paul85 1 year, 4 months ago
WRONG. The warranty is through craftsman, not SEARS. I've already replaced a 1/4 inch ratchet at Westlake and had no problems doing it.
Westlake will warranty nearly all craftsman hand tools through Craftsman with the lifetime warranty.
Grump 1 year, 4 months ago
Sears will probably hit up Lawrence government for some tax incentives to stay.
Andini 1 year, 4 months ago
That location is cursed. Walmart couldn't make it there either.
cheeseburger 1 year, 4 months ago
Couldn't make it there? Seems to me they were highly successful and moved out of that location into the much larger store at 33rd & Iowa.
LogicMan 1 year, 4 months ago
Andini -- you must not have been here when it was open. That store was swamped with shoppers. The traffic in and out was awful. They built the new store on Iowa to help solve those problems. It's doing OK too, if you haven't been there lately.
FlawontheKaw 1 year, 4 months ago
That was back when the entire area was not surrounded by crack world and criminals.
greenworld 1 year, 4 months ago
Could turn it into another Pricilla's and it would get tons of business. It used to be a walmart years ago. Maybe make it another walmart...lol or if nothing better than a casino in town. That would take the tree hugging city commission to long to discuss the better options...kind of like the empty buildings up off 27th and Iowa on the Northeast side of the street that have been there the last 15-20 years just sitting.
greenworld 1 year, 4 months ago
i dont know but what a better location for a Golden Correl than the old empty chinese place at 27th and iowa. Sounds good to me. Bring it and build it and they will come.
CharlesinCharge 1 year, 4 months ago
It was a steakhouse at one time. I believe it was a Western Sizzlin Steakhouse, but not sure if that is the correct chain.
wissmo 1 year, 4 months ago
Maybe some of you aniti growth geeters take a short drive to Manhattan a city of 52 K. I did today, and you would be amazed at the growth and building activity.
Curtis Lange 1 year, 4 months ago
I agree, but its also apples to oranges. Lawrence is surrounded by two Metropolitan areas while Manhattan is the largest city for miiiiiiiiiles out there.
deec 1 year, 4 months ago
Manhattan is also close to Ft. Riley, which as I recall, got bigger in the last few years.
wissmo 1 year, 4 months ago
It's called growth and planning. The size of Ft. Riley was and is not an accident. The fact K-State coupled with private business lured research investment is not by accident.
Simply stunned by the changes in Wamego and area too.
kujhawkfan 1 year, 4 months ago
For those wondering about the Kmart Distribution Center, it has never serviced full-line Sears stores. It has serviced about a half dozen Sears Grand stores, but currently only services one. Out of the 38 Kmart stores listed that are closing, zero are fully serviced by the Lawrence DC. However, the Lawrence DC is also a National Specialty Center and does ship certain items to each of the Kmart DC's across the country and from there each distribution center ships the products to the stores they service. Sears Holdings is expected to announce another 20-40 store closings soon.
LogicMan 1 year, 4 months ago
So any chance our current Sears would be converted to a K-Mart? And hopefully also serve as a "ship-to-store" site for Sears' appliances, tools, etc.?
If you are connected, please suggest such to your CEO!
kujhawkfan 1 year, 4 months ago
No, I don't believe Kmart will ever be back. With 1 Target and 2 Wal-Mart locations in Lawrence, there is no need for Kmart to return. No doubt this will be inconvenient for those shopping for a full-line of Craftsman, Kenmore, and DieHard products. However, with Topeka only 20 miles to the west and Overland Park 35 miles to the east, there are options to still pick up items at both Kmart and Sears or have them delivered to your home in Lawrence. For those not wanting to leave town, you can order directly from sears.com or kmart.com.
grammaddy 1 year, 4 months ago
Our Sears is the ONLY one in the state that is closing, what's up with that?
CLARKKENT 1 year, 4 months ago
MAYBE IT IS BECAUSE IT IS IN LAWRENCE.
cheeseburger 1 year, 4 months ago
+1
skinny 1 year, 4 months ago
Maybe they'll put in a K-Mart in it's place!
wissmo 1 year, 4 months ago
Our Sears is the ONLY one in the state that is closing...............
When is this community going to wake up and realize we need sales tax revenues. Yesterday at 3 in the afternoon the Olive Garden parking lot in Manhattan was filled.
Contrast this with the empty decaying parking lot of the Plum Garden. Borders, Old Navy, Sears, North Lawrence........the list grows
From what I saw in Manhattan there is room for another Olive Garden on the N.W. side of town, a separate booming shopping area in a town of 52K. Two shopping areas plus Aggieville, and a downtown to boot.
My wife and I quit counting all the new building going on.
wissmo 1 year, 4 months ago
Also for all of you thinking we have all we need here, try selling future retirees thinking of relocating we have no major stores here like Sears and Lowes. Or, show them our tiny Walmart. Lil Wally.
Or, better yet tell these folks we believe in high personal taxes and actually fight companies trying to spend money here.
gl0ck0wn3r 1 year, 4 months ago
I'm waiting for a snobby Olive Garden comment. Should be coming soon.
jackbinkelman 1 year, 4 months ago
Gawd, I hate olive garden! Ice burg lettuce and white bread!!! Entrees only mildly appetizing..Mmmmmmm!!
larrytowngirl 1 year, 4 months ago
Exit Sears ~ Enter Big Lot, Gordman's, or Burlington Coat Factory!!!
CountyResident 1 year, 4 months ago
Gordman's (used to be called The Half-Price Store) was in that building just before Sears took it over.
CountyResident 1 year, 4 months ago
Gordman's (used to be called The Half-Price Store) was in this building just before Sears moved in.
seagull 1 year, 4 months ago
Sad to see Sears go but not surprised. It's lack of success seems partly a corporate strategy problem--why go there to buy clothes or bedding--and lack of good service at the local level. I'd love to by Kenmore appliances. They always get good ratings and there's something very American about the Kenmore name (even if the appliances are really made by someone else). But have you even tried to get any solid information from a sales person? I was in there the other day looking at ranges. I must have been there for 15 minutes before a person came up behind me and yelled--"Can I help you" and then left. They had a much better selection of appliances than even Factory Direct. Even if I had asked some questions, I doubt I would have gotten any good, helpful information. They don't price match on their non-Kenmore brands.
More importantly, it seems, is what Sears' closing says about Lawrence as a thriving community able to support retail. The idea that a mall would have solved (or would solve) the problem is crazy. We'd just have a big mall with depressingly empty spaces. How many stores have closed in Lawrence in the last few years? Instead of constantly berating KU, Dolph ought to make the city the focus of his Saturday columns. It seems that the city, one of the big drawing points for students at KU, is need of a real wake-up call. It can no longer rest on its self-perceptions of itself as a Kansas mecca. Have you been to Manhattan lately? Of course, Kansas City is not 40 minutes away.
We also need to support stores in Lawrence if we want choices.
purplesage 1 year, 4 months ago
600,000 square feet? An acre is something like 43,000 square feet. I think it has been inflated by a zero.
ChristineMetz 1 year, 4 months ago
You're right. I added an extra zero. Thanks for the catch. And, we've fixed it. Sorry for the mistake.
lunacydetector 1 year, 4 months ago
i think it's closer to the 85,000 square feet size.
ChristineMetz 1 year, 4 months ago
I pulled the 60.000 number from stories we had written just before the store opened in 1998. I don't believe they have expanded since then (remodeled, yes, but not expanded). But I could be wrong.
mothergoat 1 year, 4 months ago
Yeah the store looks just over 60,000 sq ft.
Boston_Corbett 1 year, 4 months ago
The Pretentious Cow. Now there is a former business I haven't thought about for quite a while. I wonder why?
Woof, woof.
misplacedcheesehead 1 year, 4 months ago
Well named, considering who owned it. Heh, heh, heh....
beatnik 1 year, 4 months ago
lawrence is going to hell in a handbasket, no k mart, no sears, no trailer park, geez
KRichards 1 year, 4 months ago
Dicks Sporting Goods!
wissmo 1 year, 4 months ago
any full line sporting goods store...... Lil Wally and Walldork South are the only places to buy fishing equipment.
JustNoticed 1 year, 4 months ago
Without an apostrophe, that means "penises showing things off".
Pywacket 1 year, 4 months ago
For the win!!!
paul85 1 year, 4 months ago
How about a dollar theater? Oh wait, the dollar theater is now $2.50 and the movies have been available on netflix for 6 months.
Nevermind!
MarcoPogo 1 year, 4 months ago
Where is the $2.50 Movie Theater?
paul85 1 year, 4 months ago
Sorry, thinly veiled attempt at humor since the dollar store is now $1.25. I meant to imply that things are not like they used to be.
LogicMan 1 year, 4 months ago
And the "dollar" is quite a bit higher than the prior name for these stores: "five and dimes".
xbusguy 1 year, 4 months ago
Good spot for a mini wally-world with one check out lane. Just think, they could claim that all check out lanes are always open.
justoneperson 1 year, 4 months ago
hahaha!
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
seagull, i have commented about Mr. Simons tackling Lawrence instead of the KU Med Center, KU Hospital. REmember that stuff goes way back when another relative of Simons, a doctor, oh well, no one remembers that stuff.
Anyway, the City even has rules for closings, sales, permits no less. Another example of not being business friendly.
In 2012, one could only hope that the commissioners would grow a "set" instead of the tomatoes that Schumm grows on his $1.14 cent lot downtown or something like that. Now there is a Sat column for Dolph.
So in 2012, Corliss gets directed to clean house from top to bottom at city hall and every other place that employees are located.
It is time that the staff quit dictating how Lawrence is to be and they start being friendly and helping those who pay their salaries. Will it happen? No, because the commissioners are in bed with KU and a few "selected" developers of choice. Status quo over rides common sense and business.
LAN has for far too long been recognized at City Hall as some papal power. They fought allowing Target into Neider Acres. Go figure!
Think back door politics are not at work? Let's see who gets picked as the "manager' thingy for the library project, you know the one that will kinda eliminate certain procedures but allow someone or some firm to make the easy money..hehehehe it's coming.
Thank god, that the Sears buidling is not in a historic district or near something historic or Lyn Zollner and her merry band of dolts at HRC would tie up a project for years.
Just as an aside, how was BO's corner ever zoned residential? No one has answered that yet or come forward as being the dolt who did it? Maybe Dolph knows?
If he would ride to KCK with wilbur and get some bar b q at Oklahoma Joes, he could some interviews on the street about KU Hospital and KU Med Center and find out that there is no need to write about it in 2012, 'cause no one cares.
Happy New Year from wilbur.
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
you got the number when you gonna pack those boxes? you talk just like City Hall, no "walk the talk"..Oread needs bulldozing but the likes of LAN and "hear_me" just can't hear the sounds of the bulldozers yet. And as long as KU is behind the scenes making the secret maps of future expansion, not much will happen.
Oread is nothing special anyway as it complements the other slum neighborhoods surrounding downtown. The city likes it that way, it gives the developers the ability to spread out around the perimeter of the city and then come back and bulldoze the trash. KU likes it bettter if Oread isn't developed much because they can buy a piece here and there. They have time. Endowment waited 88 years for the corner at 11th and LA.
Happy new year, hear me. The boxes are waiting and the car leaves soon for another load to the fancy home(s) in Scottsdale ..you wish!
wissmo 1 year, 4 months ago
OneeyeW....even has rules for closings, sales, permits no less.......... Another example of not being business friendly.......you got it right.
Before moving here 20 years ago thought my buddies telling me about the anti business, smooch my fellow commissioner was exaggeration. Changed my mind. Heard far too many stories from young and old business people regarding regulation, special use areas, and the worst, we are so special we need nothing.
Met an old man (Granddads?) who used to travel around the Midwest towing his BBQ set-up. He told me the city always made it too difficult to start a storefront location. Made me almost come to tears hearing all the nonsense they through at him. He claimed the city felt they didn't need his joint.
Which is an attitude which used to be exuded by Lawrencians. Well folks, we have blight, we have unreported crime, a university declining in enrollment, stalled growth, no jobs, and worse of all our neighbors are stepping on our necks. Match over, game set.........next.
Wife suggested we get a weekend hotel room and do Christmas shopping in Manhattan next year. Not a bad idea.
Next time a KU blowhard claims to know about city growth get the tar and feathers and run he or she out of town.
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
One has to wonder why Dolph talks about the Med Center more than the process in Lawrence of attracting businesses and city staff helping taxpayers instead of being nasty. The KU blowhards won't get real until they are fired or demoted. wissmo, as long as Corliss and the City Commissioners and the new city attorney allow the staff to dictate policy which is reinforced by LAN and a few loonies, Lawrence isn't going anyplace. it will continue to be a spread out bunch of buildings , here and there and going nowhere.
wissmo, maybe you could find out just who zoned Bo's property residential. Thus far, Mr. Simons has not or anyone at his paper. Talk about a city that has screwed up zoning, that corner at 12th and Haskell is it.
Think about this! Corner of 31st and Haskell NW corner is zoned Heavy Industrial. Could BO have a junkyard there next to the Wetlands? wilbur ponders that in the New Year.
Happy New year to wissmo and Hear Me "not_holroyd", get busy helping wilbur pack those boxes as your promised.
hear_me 1 year, 4 months ago
The issue has nothing to do with anti business. It is possible to develop without asking for variances. Scaling back an extreme proposal to a not-so-extreme proposal does not make a development ok. In most municipalities the codes are more consistently enforced, and consequently, there is less strife between developers and residents. I contend that we have a community issue (lack of consistency) rather than a neighborhood issue.
IrishCat 1 year, 4 months ago
As mentioned earlier in the comments, one reason for the Sears store showing poor profits is clearly from bad customer service. I was there a few weeks ago and had what was probably the worst customer service I have ever had. I came in to buy a dryer, actually ready to buy one, not just browse. I waited probably 15 minutes for someone to wait on me, finally had to go find a salesperson myself, who by the way knew nothing about dryers and tried to sell me a "new" dryer that had a tag on it that said "used" and had strap marks on the top of it. To add to that, right in the middle of discussion about a purchase, he told me he was told he had to go to dinner. He told me that I was going to be helped by someone else. Well, that person never came either. I waited some more..finally I went looking for yet another salesperson and found one sitting at a desk scratching his man-stuff like he was digging for gold. As I approached him, I coughed so he would know I was getting closer and stop, but he looked right up at me and continued to dig..seriously...he too knew virtually nothing about dryers, and while still watching him scratch, I walked out of the store thoroughly disgusted. I'm no girlie girl, but seriously...take a shower or spray yourself with something! Anyway, I vowed to never go back there because of that experience and now it appears I don't have to..
IrishCat 1 year, 4 months ago
In light of my earlier negative comment about Sears, I did want to mention something positive about this south end of town. I live in the south end of town and a few nights before Christmas, my family and I went out to finish up a few odds and ends for Christmas. We went to PetCo for pet food and toys, we went to WalMart for some stocking stuffers and misc. items, we went to Pier 1 for some gifts for extended family members and ended up eating at Chili's..All within about a six block area, totally happy with the service, the amount of driving or lack there of that I had to do, and it made for a great holiday evening with my family. It was nice not to have to drive all over town or to KC for the smaller things that I needed.
oneeye_wilbur 1 year, 4 months ago
Your darn lucky anything got built out there. LAN fought that development. Has the south Iowa development ruined downtown? No! None of the businesses on south Iowa could have ever been downtown because it is full of crapped out buiildings in need of demoliton just as are the neighborhoods surrounding it. But since "hear_me" is fixated on the zoning and rules and regulations and Lawrence has a backwards Planning Department just steps away from Dolph's backdoor, even he won't tackle the city issues. Why?
What happened to the convenient speedup process that Mr. McCullough was going to bring to Planning and Development? Is Lawrence any easer to do business in now that 5 years ago? Why isnt' the Reuter building a hot market commodity? What goes with it?
by the way "not_holroyd" after you comment on this post, get busy and help me pack those boxes you promised to do. wilbur is waiting ..happy new year to everyone Hear Me.
wissmo 1 year, 4 months ago
With the ultra unique national and international economic situation we should demand more action from our elected officials.
KU, City of Lawrence, HoboInn, USD497, SRS, and all the other tax based work is just that. Tax based, it sucks revenue. Without sales taxes the home owner is target one.
Are we actively job one, put the work gloves on, pack me a lunch mamma gonna be late, put some shoulder into it, clear the table and start over, weeping, begging, get er done, put some sweat into it...........solve the horrid problem business (sales tax bucks) leaving our community?
Or, are we more interested in the curtains for our new library? Pretty soon the Q-Trip on Iowa is going to be our largest private employer.
The time is yesterday for action!
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