January 20, 2013

Spotlight: Super Kmart Center - Moon Township, PA

Store 4935 2000 Marketplace Blvd. Moon Township, PA.
Today we feature a Super Kmart Center that hasn't been downsized to a regular Kmart or closed down all together. It is located in Moon Township, Pennsylvania and was one of the first developments in the area between the city of Pittsburgh and the airport. It opened in November of 1994 and is 172,253 sq feet according to SHCrealty.com. It was strategically built to escape the high taxes of nearby areas. The area developed rapidly in the late 90's and into the early 2000's. Few other businesses decided to locate on Marketplace Blvd though.


Thank you for shopping Super Kmart Center instead of Walmart!
During it's first 8 years of operation this store did $250,000-$300,000 a day in sales. When Kmart went into bankruptcy in 2002, it was slated for closure along with numerous other Super Kmart Centers around the country. Luckily the store pulled through and stayed open, although it discontinued being open 24 hours for over a years time. Unfortunately sales declined year after year with only slight improvements during 2008-2010. Since 2010 sales have continued to decline again. 

The typical exterior design of a built from the ground up Super K.
According to a article in the Beaver County Times on November 10, 1994, this store opened with 28 checkout registers and 16 grocery aisles. It featured a full service auto center, hair salon, pharmacy, outdoor garden shop, one hour photo lab, florist, portrait studio, gourmet coffee and bakery kiosks,  and a full service restaurant. The grocery side of the store featured a butcher shop, bakery, deli, prepared food section, fresh produce, and fresh seafood.


Dairy department.
Unfortunately the features of this store have dwindled over time and the former auto center, restaurant, and arcade spaces are being rented out for other businesses to come in and operate. The auto center was closed in 2002, full service meat and seafood in 2003, the restaurant in 2004, Borics hair salon in 2011, bakery and deli operations were greatly reduced in 2012, the floral department was closed quite a while back, and the one hour photo lab is long gone also. In early 2012, this Super Kmart Center along with the 21 others remaining around the country had their hours reduced from being open 24 hours to 6am to 12am everyday. One thing promising for this store is that at the end of December 2012, it starting accepting WIC vouchers, the first Kmart store in the country to do so.







Service Desk with the Super Stars of Super K.


Team shop and former florist area.



The former restaurant seating area.
Another shot of the former restaurant seating area.


 
Newest Super Kmart Center logo, now pronounced Kmart Supercenter







And there you go another barely surviving Super Kmart Center, one of just a few remaining around the country. Should Kmart just give up completely on their remaining Supercenters or should they continue to let them hang on? Let us know in the comments below.