Ocean Township Big Lots Is One Of 10 Stores Closing In NJ

OCEAN, NJ — The Big Lots in Ocean Township is on a new list of 10 total stores the company says it is closing in New Jersey.

This is the Big Lots located at 2353 Rt. 66 in Ocean. The store is scheduled to close around Thanksgiving, a store manager told Patch Wednesday.

Big Lots pointed to "high inflation and interest rates that are beyond its control" in this Sept. 9 press release announcing stores will be closing. The chain added that "core customers curbed their discretionary spending on the home and seasonal product categories that represent a significant portion of the company's revenue."

Big Lots also filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

Big Lots originally planned to close seven stores in New Jersey this fall, but recently added three more locations to its list, out of the 27 total it has in the state. These are all 10 Big Lots stores in New Jersey that either have already closed, or will be closing soon:

• Cherry Hill: 949 Church Road
• Dover: 550 Mount Pleasant Ave.
• Jersey City: 725 U.S. Route 440
• East Brunswick, 275 State Route 18
• Freehold, 220 Trotters Way
• North Bergen, 3129 Kennedy Boulevard
• Ocean Township, 2353 State Route 66
• Phillipsburg, 1202 New Brunswick Avenue
• Union, 2700 U.S. Highway 22
• Woodbridge, 471 Green Street

Nationally, Big Lots had 1,389 stores before the closures, but 496 stores (roughly 35 percent) are now shutting down.