DeKalb Big Lots to close Jan. 31, landlord says

DeKALB – Another national retailer plans to shutter its DeKalb location after the holiday season.

Discount retailer Big Lots will close its store at 1700 Sycamore Road on Jan. 31, said Pankaj Mahajan, the director of retail development for the DeKalb Shopping Center’s owner, First Rockford Group.

Mahajan said the closing coincides with the end of the store’s 10 year-lease.

He said he couldn’t say what other factors are leading to the closure. Big Lots representatives did not respond to multiple requests for comment.

Big Lots, a Columbus, Ohio-based retailer that sells closeout merchandise, moved into the space that had been home to Eagle Foods until October 2003.

The shopping center also is home to Jo-Ann Fabrics, Fitworkz and Mardi Gras Lanes.
Mahajan said he is looking for a new tenant for the 28,000-square-foot space.

A new tenant will likely be willing to pay rent in the single digits per square foot, he said.
"It's going to be a tenant that typically has a demand for low rent," Mahajan said. "It's not going to be a Trader Joe's or something high-end like that."

Big Lots’ closure will come a month after Barnes & Nobles shutters its store at 2439 Sycamore Road on Dec. 31.

William Staebler, the director of real estate development for Mid-America Management, said the book retailer's decision to close came after lease negotiations failed.
Calls to Big Lots corporate office seeking comment were not returned Wednesday.