A discount retailer known for its brand name closeout specials is closing one of its 27 stores in Connecticut, unable to renew the lease after exploring a long-term extension.
Ocean State Job Lot said it will close its Southington store on Queen Street after operating in the town for nearly three decades.
A long-term lease extension and reinvestment in the store was not possible because the landlord was “moving in a different direction for the property.”
All store employees, the retailer said, will be offered “equivalent positions” at a nearby store.
“We appreciate the community’s support over the past 28 years and thank our valued associates who helped make this store successful,” the discounter said, in a statement.
“We look forward to serving our customers at our nearby stores in Bristol, Waterbury, Berlin and Meriden.”
Ocean State Job Lot operates more than 170 stores in the Northeast and mid-Atlantic regions with the company noting that it will be opening more locations in 2026.
Goodwill of Southern New England CEO and President Richard Borer said plans are for one of his stores to move into the building.
“We currently have an existing Goodwill store in the same plaza we are moving to in Southington,” he said.
“The existing store is a smaller store (12,000 square feet) and really doesn’t fit our business model and in addition to that, we get a large volume of donations at that location and there is not enough room to process the donations,” he said.
“We negotiated with the landlord and have an agreement to move into the larger store (24,000 square feet) in the same plaza. We are really excited to be in the same location, in the same community and have a larger store. We anticipate hiring more staff and serving more people in the larger space.”
Kenneth R. Gosselin can be reached at kgosselin@courant.com.

