By Sara Beth Williams–
Following several weeks of liquidation sales, the Big Lots store in Citrus Heights has closed — part of a round of closures for 2023 that included seven stores nationwide.
As of Monday, signage from the building had been removed and signs posted on several of the windows read “This location is closed.” The signs on the windows point to the next nearest Big Lots location, which is 10251 Fairway Drive in Roseville.
Several nearby businesses confirmed the store had closed sometime last week.
The local Big Lots store was among seven locations the company announced would be closing in January, with the company’s CEO in December citing the impact of high inflation on low-income consumers, which has caused many to hold off on buying non-essential items, according to a Jan. 12 report from Business Insider. Four other stores were slated to close by Jan. 15 in Colorado, along with two other locations in California.
The local discount retail store closed after almost four years of operating on the northern outskirts of Citrus Heights, at 8525 Auburn Blvd. The store opened its doors in April 2019, the same month that a Smart & Final store at the same shopping center closed. Big Lots occupied a portion of the 90,000-square-foot building that housed K-Mart until 2016.
ABC 10 first reported last month about the store’s impending closure, citing a statement from Big Lots spokesperson Josh Chaney who said the company reviews its stores on a routine basis “and sometimes decide, for a variety of business reasons, to close or relocate.”
ABC said there had been assertions about high crime and theft contributing to the closure, but the news outlet reported a police commander said the location had not seen “an unusually high amount of theft” over the past year.
A new tenant for the Big Lots site has not been announced, and the most current leasing brochure for the location shows the space as being available.
In 2021, three new businesses joined the Citrus Grove shopping center, including a new nail salon, cafe and a discount wholesaler. The future of the former Studio Grill site next door to Big Lots remains unconfirmed, although a leasing brochure dated Sept. 22, 2022 shows plans for a theater and does not list that space as available.
Red Mountain Group did not return attempts for comment before press time on Thursday.
