Vernon Ocean State Job Lot Opens Ahead Of Schedule

VERNON, CT — The new Ocean State Job Lot in the old KMart building in Vernon opened this week ahead of schedule.

Cars packed the parking lot both Thursday an Friday. Some shelves were still being stocked as shoppers browsed the aisles. One shopper in the parking lot was bragging about finding several bargains.

The target date to open had been early fall.

Offerings on Friday were typical Ocean State. Seasonal items ranged from flannel sleep pants to kayaks to hiking socks. Several boxes of Christmas wrapping paper were on display, as was a plethora of cleaning supplies and hand sanitizers.

The new Ocean State Job Lot In Vernon (Chris Dehnel/Patch)

The building is located in a shopping plaza off Route 30 at 295 Hartford Turnpike. Ocean State Job Lot is taking up 40,000 square feet, about half the space of the old KMart. KMart closed in March 2019 amid financial woes experienced by its corporate parent, Sears Holdings.

The new store has created about 50 full-time and part-time jobs.

In late March, officials for Ocean State Job confirmed a lease agreement to open its newest store in the vacant KMart building. It is the 28th outlet in Connecticut for the Rhode Island-based discount retailer. Ocean State Job Lot officials said a long-term lease has been signed with property owner CE Vernon II, LLC, based in Fairfield.

Ocean State Job Lot offers discounts by virtue of "opportunistic buying." Stores feature household goods, apparel, pet supplies, seasonal products like holiday items, gardening supplies, patio accessories and pool and beach supplies, kitchen and pantry "staples" and gourmet and international specialty foods.

Ocean State Job Lot was founded in 1977 and currently has 139 stores in New England, New York, New Jersey and Pennsylvania with about 5,600 employees. It boasts annual sales of approximately $725 million.

"We are thrilled to open our doors in Vernon," said Bill Polino, the Ocean State Job Lot store team leader. "We are so proud of our team for pulling together to get this new store stocked and ready to provide our customers with a unique variety of essentials, including pantry staples, paper goods, hand soap and hand sanitizer, disinfectant wipes, and a wide array of cleaning products, all at affordable prices."

The Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation is donating thousands of pieces of personal protective equipment to the Vernon police and fire departments as part of its "ongoing support of those in need during the COVID-19 pandemic." The donation includes 6,000 surgical masks, 3,200 KN95 masks, 40 gallons of hand sanitizer, 20 face shields and 30 infrared non-contact thermometers, a total retail value of more than $11,000.

The Foundation is in the process of distributing more than $1.5 million worth of PPE to police and fire departments in each of the 142 communities where Ocean State Job Lot has stores.

"With our unique buying power and access to countless vendors, we’ve put an enormous amount of effort into securing large quantities of personal protective equipment throughout the pandemic," said David Sarlitto, the executive director of the Ocean State Job Lot Charitable Foundation. "We hope these donations to the men and women working around the clock to keep us safe and healthy, will help keep them safe and healthy."

Store hours are currently 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., every day. The store is hosting a shopping hour for those at "higher risk of COVID-19," including customers aged 60 and older, every Tuesday and Thursday, from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m.