Kmart World

I worked at the Beach Blvd store from 1979 to 1982...

2012-02-18T11:24:12.766-05:00

I worked at the Beach Blvd store from 1979 to 1982, serving time in the Appliance and Home Improvement departments. I actually met my first wife there. I believe this store was the biggest and the busiest in Jax at the time. The 1969 store opening date seems just about right, since it was starting to show some of its age when I started working there. By the time I started in 1979, the adjoining food store building was operating as a popular nightclub known as Nichols Alley. The club had a New York/Big Apple theme, and I believe had an old NY streetcar installed at the inside entrance that you had to walk through to get inside the club. I can remember working Friday and Saturday nights at the store, and the crowds of sharply dressed young guys and gals milling around in the store waiting on Nichols Alley to open their doors. I also remember the rock group Black Oak Arkansas playing at the club one night, and drawing a huge crowd. Sometime around 1980, Nichols Alley closed and a Chuck E Cheese-type Pizza Time theater completely remodeled the building and moved in. It was a big hangout for the families with kids for a couple of years before closing and remaining empty for a few years. From the interior photos of the store noted above, I hardly recognize this store now.

Not many if at all left here in TX which makes thi...

2012-02-09T16:01:56.519-05:00

Not many if at all left here in TX which makes this blog and pics more fascinating. The stores that are left elsewhere are in limbo. It is nostalgic and important to capture all of this while you can in case they all go away soon.

surprised perishable flower section is still there...

2012-01-27T08:34:42.193-05:00

surprised perishable flower section is still there... pretty neat photos though! thanks!

Ive been to a bunch of former Super Kmarts now. Iv...

2012-01-27T03:46:14.165-05:00

Ive been to a bunch of former Super Kmarts now. Ive seen 2 that use the old grocery side for a Sears Outlet (that sell appliances mostly) and ive seen 1 that has it walled off, like the one shown. All of them have been very clean, really nice, bright, and inviting. Out of the 3 ive seen, only 1 has a K Express gas station, thats in Greensboro, NC. They have some of the nicest looking graphics on a gas station!

Sears DOES have money, instead of losing it, they ...

2012-01-22T22:30:32.213-05:00

Sears DOES have money, instead of losing it, they could invest it in a store. Maybe launch a prototype or two. It might just be a success. Even if it IS somewhat of a good idea (mygofer?) Sears does basically nothing.

When a Super Kmart is converted they usually remov...

2012-01-22T12:40:39.644-05:00

When a Super Kmart is converted they usually remove all of the refridgerators a few may still have refrigerators intact, but this is not one of those store. The video link I pasted above shows how Kmart usually converts a Super Kmart to a regular Kmart. I still wonder why Kmart will not remodel their stores and make them profitable.

The reason they trucked in the old coolers was bec...

2012-01-22T08:24:29.004-05:00

The reason they trucked in the old coolers was because the newer coolers are behind the barrier. If a miracle happened and they decided to reopen the grocery side, then they could because all the fixtures (including the cooler) are still there.

very cool post. I have never been into a Converted...

2012-01-21T22:41:31.330-05:00

very cool post. I have never been into a Converted Super Kmart store before , but I plan to soon. I hope to be able to do a post on the converted first Super Kmart ever in Medina, Ohio since it is kind of close to home. The Medina store is slated to close and has been downgraded with a lack of updated signage. The Medina store lost most of the customers that still shopped their to Walmart after the conversion. I want you to also know that I found a video of the process of downgrading that Super Kmart in Medina on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsegM3i3XC8

Pseudo, This store is actually in the process of t...

2012-01-21T21:09:45.387-05:00

Pseudo,
This store is actually in the process of transforming back into a Kmart store. It supposed to be complete in March. I visited the store this week and took pictures of the remodeling and the liquidation sale. I will add them to the site soon, along with revisiting it when it's back to a Kmart and photograph it again.

Are you referring to this http://www.flickr.com/ph...

2012-01-19T22:04:23.221-05:00

Are you referring to this http://www.flickr.com/photos/dyingindowney/2651067092/

When I lived in Tucker, Ga I went to the American ...

2012-01-18T06:13:51.840-05:00

When I lived in Tucker, Ga I went to the American Fare there. I loved that store, it had everything. Fresh sea food, produce was excellent good prices. I didn't realize that American Fare and PharxMor had closed up. When we lived in Florida I worked at Phar Mor and really liked that store oh well, life goes on.

I think this may be on the closing list, unfortuna...

2012-01-09T23:51:26.117-05:00

I think this may be on the closing list, unfortunately. Just by the sounds of it...

Any contributions are very much appreciated. Just ...

2012-01-07T20:01:56.371-05:00

Any contributions are very much appreciated. Just send them to the email link on the Contribution page. Thanks!

There are some really cool things I will be sendin...

2012-01-07T19:16:23.776-05:00

There are some really cool things I will be sending tuesday about the Green Kmart remodel pre-sears. Just wait till I get my IP blockers set.

That's unfortunate if they end up closing some...

2012-01-06T22:22:07.065-05:00

That's unfortunate if they end up closing some of their good stores. I hate to see this happening to Sears Holdings. They brought it on themselves though, by not keeping their stores up with the times. I really hope these closings will help them and are not a sign of more bad things to come.

The 1st rounds of store closing will start in Febr...

2012-01-06T22:06:37.712-05:00

The 1st rounds of store closing will start in February. So any week you should here the final list. The remaining store closings are stores the company is on the fence about. These are high profile stores that the company is afraid to loose as they have invested ALOT of money is.

Anonymous SHC employee, please contact us by using...

2012-01-06T21:37:29.921-05:00

Anonymous SHC employee, please contact us by using the email contact link on the "Contribute to Kmart World" page. Thank You

Would you happen to know when the final closing li...

2012-01-06T20:24:39.524-05:00

Would you happen to know when the final closing list is being released?

Hi. As an SHC employee I have access to this. Gene...

2012-01-06T01:25:55.664-05:00

Hi. As an SHC employee I have access to this. General Public does not. If you can post the store number, I can provide those details.

What site do you use to find out information on Km...

2012-01-05T20:52:38.679-05:00

What site do you use to find out information on Kmart stores. I use shcrealty.com, but that site pretty much just tell square footage and area demographics; not facts like when it opened or store managers. I need facts like this for a lot of Kmart stores, but I can not find a site that tells me facts like the date they opened.

Hi Complete info on store: Store Number 4283 Repor...

2012-01-05T00:28:30.190-05:00

Hi Complete info on store:
Store Number 4283
Report Date NANANANANA
Store Address 5751 BEACH BLVD JACKSONVILLE, FL 32207-5163
Store Manager EVANS GREGORY
Phone (904 ) 396-6931
Store Fax Number
Store Type Code
Store County DUVAL
Store Open Date 11/06/1969
Store Closed Date

District Manager D PYNCHON/JACKS FL
District Manager Home Location 4286

As an insider, what ever you need to know I have

Awesome. I knew it had to have been built in the l...

2012-01-04T18:51:20.834-05:00

Awesome. I knew it had to have been built in the late 60's, early 70's. Where were you able to find that out and the sq footage?

The shopping center was built in 1973, I am guessi...

2012-01-04T18:30:23.355-05:00

The shopping center was built in 1973, I am guessing that Kmart opened at the same time as the rest of the shopping center.

This store is 101,955 square feet. Still not sure ...

2012-01-04T18:07:47.870-05:00

This store is 101,955 square feet. Still not sure when it opened though.

From what I have heard most Kmart stores were expa...

2012-01-03T23:38:08.454-05:00

From what I have heard most Kmart stores were expanded in 1991, but I am not sure about this store. This store looks like an early 70s store to me, it is definity not a late 70s store.