New Ocean State Job Lot Taking Shape In Vernon, Hiring Under Way

VERNON, CT — The new Ocean State Job lot store in Vernon is taking shape and a sign put out recently shows the hiring process has begun.

The off-price home goods chain announced in March that is had signed a lease to take over about 40,000 square feet at the old KMart building in a plaza off Route 30. Work has been quietly taking place through the coronavirus pandemic with the hope of an opening sometime this fall.

Ocean State will occupy about half of the KMart space. The KMart store in Vernon closed in March 2019 amid financial woes experienced by its corporate parent, Sears Holdings. It was the next-to-last KMart in Connecticut.

Ocean state has shifted the entrance to the left, toward the old KMart garden department. A hiring sign is being prominently displayed near a work barricade. Click here for the Ocean State Job Lot careers page.

Ocean State Departments include:

• Beach and pool
• Lawn and garden
• Outdoor living
• Water sports and outdoors
• Food and beverage
• Household essentials
• Home and decor
• School and office supplies
• Pet pupplies
• Health and beauty

Town Fair Tire and a Salvation Army store currently anchor the plaza. The popular Ninety-Nine restaurant sits adjacent to Route 30 in a free-standing building.

The Ann & Hope curtain and bath outlet recently closed. A space once occupied by two different Chinese buffets is also vacant in the plaza. Another ghost of Sears past, a former hardware outlet, sits vacant across the driveway near the Vernon Stop & Shop. Stop & Shop controls the lease for that space, town officials said.