I've posted before of my love for Kmart. Trips to that store were a big deal in my childhood.
In my mind's eye, it will always look like this....
And not this.....
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| Byron Center Kmart on it's last day, December 11th 2016 |
Also, this time of year will always make me think of this.....
As of December 11th, Grand Rapids Kmart on Plainfield- the last remaining piece of North Kent Mall- is closed. Same with Byron Center Kmart on 68th St.
Byron Center Kmart opened October 3rd, 1994 and the Plainfield location opened February 23rd 1978. The longest running Kmart in Grand Rapids, 38 years of business!
There are still locations open in Muskegon and Hastings, if you feel like a nostalgia road trip! Not like it would really be the same, but sometimes if I find myself in one of these stores I like to daydream about them good ol' childhood days.
Muskegon has closed now, but there still is one in Greenville in addition to Hastings, but I don't see either of those lasting much longer as Sears Holdings (which owns Kmart) is not far from bankruptcy. At one point, there were six Kmarts in metro Grand Rapids (68th/131, Plainfield, 28th/Buchanan, 28th/Lake Eastbrook, Alpine, and Jenison). Three of them (Jenison, 28th/Buchanan, and Alpine) closed prior to Kmart's bankruptcy, while 28th/Lake Eastbrook closed as a result of said bankruptcy.
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