Blue Light Officially Goes Out On Vernon KMart

VERNON, CT — As advertised, the Vernon KMart officially closed in March.

A box truck was seen parked in front of the building off Route 30 mid-week and equipment was being loaded non-stop. People were even seen taking fixtures away in shopping carts.

A liquidaton sale started the first week in January, a week after KMart's parent company, Sears Holdings, announced that the Vernon KMart will be closing in the spring.

The demise of the Vernon store leaves one KMart standing in the state — in Watertown at 595 Straits Turnpike.

Sears stores in Milford, Waterford and Meriden stores were earmarked for closure and the only Sears stores left in Connecticut would be in Danbury and Manchester afdter the smoke clears, according to the company.

As part of "Sears Holdings processes to accelerate its strategic transformation and facilitate its financial restructuring," the company informed associates at 80 stores in late December of closings involving both Sears and KMart stores by late March, according to a statement from the company.

To see the full list of stores designated for closure, click here.

A Sears Hardware in the same Vernon plaza closed several years ago. The KMart vacancy joins the former hardware store in the same retail cluster.

Vernon Economic Development Coordinator Shaun Gately said he must first let "legal wranglings" work themselves out before he could comment on any possibilities for the buildings."

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