The Big Lots retail store in Freedom Centre is now history in Watsonville.
The chain business, with hundreds of locations sprinkled across the U.S., announced late last year that it was closing all of its stores, which are commonly situated in popular shopping centers. However, at the close of the year, they announced in a press release that an agreement to a sale transaction with Gordon Brothers Retail Partners will enable some of the stores to remain open. The Watsonville branch is not one of them.
The sale to Gordon Brothers Retail Partners will create a transfer of Big Lots assets, including stores, distribution centers, and intellectual property, to other retailers and companies, including Variety Wholesalers, Inc. (“Variety Wholesalers”), which owns more than 400 retail stores in the Southeast and Mid-Atlantic U.S. under the Roses, Roses Express, Maxway, Bill’s Dollar Stores, Super 10, Super Dollar, and Bargain Town banners.
Freedom Centre also houses Safeway, Starbucks, Rites Aid, Happy Garden restaurant, the Donut Basket and other businesses.
Shaz Roth, CEO of the Pajaro Valley Chamber of Commerce and Agricultural, said she has not been informed of what business might fill the void.
