East Brunswick Kmart Among Stores to Close in 2017

EAST BRUNSWICK, NJ - The Kmart on Rt. 18 in East Brunswick is one of the four in the state slated to be shuttered, ailing discount retailer Kmart announced Thursday.

The East Brunswick store is located at 645 Rt. 18, across Rt. 18 from Guitar Center. The store is expected to close on March 26, an employee at the store told Patch, who said employees were told Wednesday morning that their store would be closing and they would be out of jobs.

"We've all been a little down at the moment, but we're still trying to laugh and joke about it," he said of the mood among current staffers.

There is no word yet what will replace the Kmart. The closest nearest Kmart is a Kmart Furniture in Somerset.

Sears, which owns Kmart, said it will close 150 Kmart and Sears stores by the spring, part of a "difficult but necessary step as we take actions to strengthen the company’s operations and fund its transformation," the company said in a statement. No New Jersey Sears stores are on the list to close.

The other three Kmarts in New Jersey that will close are:

• 1468 Clementon Road, Clementon
• 800 Black Horse Pike, Pleasantville
• Rte 9 & Rte 47, Rio Grande

The news comes a day after Macy's said it's closing 68 stores nationwide, including three in New Jersey. Read more: Macy's To Close 3 New Jersey Stores. The Macy's stores are in Voorhees, Moorestown and Wayne.

• Moorestown, Moorestown, NJ (200,000 square feet; opened in 1999; 107 associates);
• Voorhees Town Center, Voorhees, NJ (224,000 square feet; opened in 1970; 77 associates);
• Preakness, Wayne, NJ (81,000 square feet; opened in 1963; 72 associates);

Disappointing holiday sales were reported at all department stores nationwide, as well as declines in stock prices.

Google Earth image of the Rt. 18 Kmart in East Brunswick Township.