Big Kmart / XPECT Discounts - Cromwell, CT

Big Kmart / XPECT Discounts - Cromwell, CT

  March 18, 2018    Robby S.

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BIG KMART/XPECT DISCOUNTS
CROMWELL, CT
CLOSED 2017

We're back at it again with the abandoned Kmarts but this time we have a little something extra, too... An abandoned XPect Discounts right next door!

This probably could be two separate posts but it's just so exciting. So don't be too surprised if you don't see a post next week

These two stores are situated as part of The Shops at Cromwell Square, which is situated right off CT-9 about 5 miles north of Middletown, CT. The plaza was constructed to house Kmart - later branded as Big Kmart - in 1973. Alongside there being a Kmart, the space where XPect Discounts sits empty today was once a Kmart Foods store.



First, let's jump into the former XPect Discounts, just because I took pictures of it first;

XPect a lot of glare because the sun wasn't in the best of places during my photo shoot. (Get the pun though?)

When the plaza first opened, the space where XPect Discounts resided was owned by Kmart and served as a Kmart Foods location, which, as you might imagine, offered an array of grocery items to consumers. Kmart Foods opened alongside the Kmart in 1973. The Kmart and Kmart Food stores were always separate facilities despite there being some stores where the two were all under one roof (a predecessor to the Big Kmart and Super Kmart concepts). The Kmart Foods store wouldn't last forever, however, and with the conversion of the neighboring Kmart into Big Kmart in the 1990s, the food center would become part of the main Kmart store and the Kmart Foods store would close. 

XPect Discounts, a smaller Connecticut-based chain grocery store, opened in the space and operated until its closure on April 1, 2016

A clearer picture of the defunct Cromwell XPect Discounts ©JJBers

Now I believe there are rumors flying around saying that ShopRite is going to purchase the space and open up a store that would occupy Kmart as well as a little bit of the old XPect Discounts store, but I'm not certain. The store wasn't too big in size, only being around 32,000 sq ft.

The former entrance for XPect Discounts. The handwritten 'CLOSED' sign has all but faded after two years of sun exposure. 

Very few remnants remain of the former XPect location. I do know there was a pharmacy somewhere in the store but I believe it may have been facing towards the back of the store which I sadly have no way of photographing.

The store doesn't look like its in awful shape. Of course a few improvements wouldn't be out of place.

Looking into the store through the vestibule windows.

It looks as if the walls dividing the main sales floor from receiving area during the XPect/Kmart days have been completely removed. Note the overhead door in the back left where delivery trucks would unload. 

The exit to the store was quite odd as it had its own little vestibule compared to the entrance which didn't.

Despite XPect remaining vacant for the last 20 months, its signs are still completely intact throughout the plaza. I've already shown you the big sign still on the store, but their highway sign still is present while Kmart has covered theirs.

Kmart's sign was on top with XPect Discounts being right below it

If you look REALLY closely, you can still see a little outline of the yellow bar between where it said 'BIG' and 'Kmart' on the top sign.

For reference, here's the sign before any of the stores closed

©MJBarnes

Now moving on to Kmart:

A typical 1970s Kmart. The Cromwell location would have looked like this when it opened | via History's Dumpster

When the Cromwell Kmart opened, it was like most other Kmarts of the time - featuring the slanted, concrete facade with the original 'K mart' logo (still in use at the Watertown, CT location).

Today, the Cromwell Kmart sits as a shell of its former self.

Looking back towards XPect. Those are the labelscars from the Kenmore, Craftsman, and DieHard signs (in that order) that most other Kmart stores featured.

Exit doors

The old entrance. For whatever reason, the red banner was removed from all doors except for the exit door... Strange...

Looking inside

Looking inside towards the left part of the store.

The middle of the store looking towards the garden center

Middle of the store looking towards the Kmart main entrance/XPect Discounts

Looking towards the garden center. The discolored square is a labelscar leftover from a Western Union sign

The Garden Center entrance was papered over. I believe when I was there there was construction underway inside.

Garden Center entrance. Notice the scarring from where it once said 'Big Kmart'

Looking back towards Kmart and XPect. From this angle, it's pretty clear that the site once housed a Kmart

An empty garden center

An uncovered, unlocked entrance. I would've gone to take a peek, but I was short on time and also I don't think the construction workers would've been too happy

Some more of the abandoned Garden Center. Notice the emergency exit door in the back

A fenced in area for outdoor storage... This isn't part of the Garden Center and is in the back of the store

Main receiving in the rear of the store

The truck for removing the asbestos from the store. The little sign reads DANGER: ASBESTOS May cause cancer, Causes damage to lungs, Authorized Personnel Only 

Based off of some nifty guides I've found online, here's a quick layout of where things would've been in the Cromwell store:

Something else I'd like to note is that it doesn't appear that Kmart had the intent of making too much effort in keeping this store open. For a lot of locations, what they'll do is downsize the store and shrink it from a Big Kmart to just a regular Kmart. That wasn't the case for the Cromwell store as it went closed as a Big Kmart. 

I have a road trip planned for the near future, where I hope to take a look at the Vernon and Watertown locations. The Watertown location still sports the old '60s logo and the Vernon store still has most of its store intact (ie Little Caesars etc).

Stay tuned for more Kmart updates soon, as I know I love making these!

Until next time,