Ocean State Job Lot to open new location in Augusta’s Turnpike Mall

Discount retailer Ocean State Job Lots will open a location at the Turnpike Mall in Augusta, replacing Christmas Tree Shops, above, which closed last year. Joe Phelan/Kennebec Journal file

AUGUSTA — The Rhode Island-based discount retail heavyweight Ocean State Job Lot plans to open its eighth location in Maine late this fall in Augusta’s Turnpike Mall, filling the space formerly held by Christmas Tree Shops, which closed last summer.

The Augusta location marks the fifth new store announced for Ocean State Job Lot across the Northeast in the last month.

The company also plans to replace former Christmas Tree Shops in Avon and Pembroke, Massachusetts; and Warwick, Rhode Island, after that retail chain filed for bankruptcy and closed all of its 70 locations.

Ocean State Job Lot has more than 150 locations in nine states, selling household goods, clothing, seasonal products and specialty food items.

In Maine, the company has locations in Bangor, Belfast, Biddeford, Falmouth, Oxford, Rockland and Sanford.

“We are thrilled to announce that our newest store in Maine will be in the great state’s capital city,” Ocean State Job Lot District Team Leader Tom Croteau said in a news release. “Our bright, friendly and value-focused shopping experience is the perfect complement to the offerings of our co-tenants, and we look forward to opening the doors to Mainers later this year.”

In the news release, the company said it plans to hire up to 50 new staff at all levels and positions for the new store, with the recruiting process beginning later this summer.

Turnpike Mall, the site of the new store, is at the corner of Western Avenue and Whitten Road. The mall has seen substantial turnover in recent years.

In 2019, the mall switched ownership shortly after the Sears location there closed. Bed, Bath & Beyond filed for bankruptcy shortly before the next-door Christmas Tree Shops in 2023, leaving about two-thirds of the mall empty.

The new Ocean State Job Lot location, at 42 Whitten Road, has already applied for two permits from the city of Augusta, according to city permit records — one in June for remodeling the 36,000-square-foot space and one issued on Aug. 7 for installing new signage. The estimated costs of renovations and signage in the permits were about $362,000.

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