After an almost 40-year run at its Second Street location, Henderson’s Big Lots store will close in October.
Frequent shopper Judy Hayden said she’ll miss the store because of the employees, many of them her friends. She said the employees have been at the store for a long time, and when she visits the store, she’s always able to talk to them, get the help she needs, and if they can’t find what she’s looking for, they search together.
“They’ve had the same employees for years,” she said.
Part of the draw of shopping at the store for Hayden was that she never knew what she’d find. She likened it to the surprises of life because people can walk in with one idea and the store will give him them something completely different.
“Most of the time you have to wander around (until) ‘Oh, this is a good deal’ and it’s usually not what you expected,” Hayden said.
The Henderson Big Lots is one of hundreds of the discount retail stores nationwide that will close. The local announcement comes on the heels of a July 31 corporate Securities and Exchange Commission filing from the company that amended a previous agreement with lenders that allows the company to close as many as 315 underperforming stores, up from an earlier agreed upon 150.
A Monday article from the Indianapolis Star that appeared in The Gleaner said that the Big Lots in Henderson is one of three in Kentucky that will close. The other two are in Louisville and Lexington.
The amended agreement filed with the SEC also calls for leftover inventory after liquidation from the shuttered stores to be moved to others still open and lowers the total amount of lending available, going from $900 million to $800 million.
A manager at the local store said he could not comment on anything and referred the Hendersonian to the corporate phone number. The Hendersonian called the number, but the recording offered no media relations options.
On the front windows of the store, large posters proclaim: “Store Closing,” “Nothing Held Back” and “Entire Store Up To 20% Off.”
The store’s website has already removed the Henderson location as one of the closest stores to a Henderson address. Instead, when typing in the 42420 zip code, stores in Evansville, Owensboro and Madisonville are listed as closest.
According to a document from the Property Valuation Administration, the building in which Big Lots is located was built in 1966. According to the city of Henderson records, Big Lots began operations at the Second Street location in 1986. Before Big Lots, a Cook’s department store and a Clark’s department store each operated out of the building, said several Henderson residents.
The building is owned by Ershig Properties which has leased it to Big Lots. Representatives of Ershig Properties declined to speak about the store’s closing.
Hayden said employees told her that they have been offered transfers to jobs at other Big Lots stores.
She said Big Lots’ leaving is “a loss to Henderson, especially since Kmart moved out.”
“I’m really going to miss them,” she said.