One of the original anchor stores of Santa Maria’s Town Center shopping complex will be closing in February, officials announced Thursday.
The Sears store at 200 Town Center East is one of 96 Sears and Kmart stores throughout the country that will be closed, according to Transformco, which purchased the assets of Sears Holding Corporations in February.
Going out of business sales at the closing stores is expected to begin Dec. 2, according to officials.
The Santa Maria location dates back to at least 1975, according to Mark van de Kamp, city spokesman.
“The closure announcement is unfortunate for the employees and for the region, but everyone should realize that Santa Maria continues to see growth in retail activity,” Mr. van de Kamp said in a statement. “The closure is not unexpected because of the company’s bankruptcy and waves of numerous store closures in the past few years, including the Santa Barbara Sears closure.”
The Santa Maria Kmart closed earlier this year.
The Santa Maria Valley Chamber of Commerce released a statement Thursday, saying it was “disappointed” to learn of the closure.
“We are disappointed that the owners of Sears have made the decision to leave our community, where they have had a loyal and supportive customer base,” said Glenn Morris, president & CEO of the Chamber. “Our first concern is to provide support for the employees of the store and have begun working with the Workforce Development Board to identify resources that can be made available to help these individuals find new jobs right away. Additionally, our Economic Development team will work closely with the building owners, the Town Center management, and the City of Santa Maria to identify potential new tenants for the space.”
Suzanne Singh, economic development director for the chamber, said that the chamber has a “great relationship with the management team at the Town Center” and they will work with them to find a solution.
email: mwhite@newspress.com
